


The House with the Red Door

by LenoreFrost



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Handcuffs, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Jon Snow Knows Something, POV Daenerys, Past Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Torture, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pregnancy, Shameless Smut, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2019-04-18 08:28:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 111,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14209182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LenoreFrost/pseuds/LenoreFrost
Summary: Daenerys Targaryen came home to Winterfell to start over again after her husband's sudden death.  She has three loving, but rambunctious pitbulls and she runs The House with the Red Door, a shelter for abused women, and she tells herself that that's enough, that it has to be enough.  But when she runs into Jon Snow, who has also come home after several years in the military for a job on Winterfell's police squad with his K-9 Ghost, she starts to want more from life again.





	1. Not Mine to Want

The flashing red and blue lights in the rearview mirror were the last thing she wanted to see.

  
Dany had just come from The Imp’s Delight Winery where she’d been meeting with Sansa, the House’s attorney, and the conversation had involved several glasses of wine. Not enough that she was driving erratically, of course, which she reassured herself as she pulled over onto the shoulder. Just enough to take the edge off her stress level and, apparently, make her reckless with her speed driving home.

Pulse racing, Dany grabbed a piece of winter mint gum out of her purse, hoping it would mask any wine breath she might have, then proceeded to dig out her driver’s license and registration. The cop got out of his squadcar and Dany rolled down her window to listen to his footsteps approaching. A flashlight shown on her and she winced. “Daenerys? Daenerys Targaryen?” he asked.

Dany squinted up at him and the cop pointed the flashlight downward so she could see. Dark grey eyes stared back at her, framed by curly black hair and a crooked grin. “Jon Snow?” she said in surprise. She thought she was familiar with everyone on the Winterfell police squad.

Jon Snow clicked off the flashlight and leaned one arm on the roof of her truck. “I’m running into all kinds of people I haven’t seen in ages,” Jon said. “How are you? I thought you were living out east somewhere.”

“I was,” she said, her throat going tight at the thought of Essos. “I went to school in Essos and lived out there for a few years. But eventually, it was time to come home. I didn’t know you were a cop. I thought you were going into the army?”

“I did,” Jon said, his rough voice tightening a bit the way hers no doubt had at the mention of Essos. “I put in my time, decided it was time to come home too. Just my luck that Winterfell found the budget for a K-9 unit about the time I was job-hunting.”

Dany’s eyebrows shot up. “K-9 unit? You have a dog with you?”

Jon grinned teasingly. “Yeah. At the speed you were going, normally I’d bring him out to check your car for drugs.”

Dany swallowed hard. The conversation with Jon, who she’d graduated from Winterfell High with, had started out pretty well, but maybe she wasn’t off the hook yet. “To be honest, I don’t really know how fast I was going. I just came from kind of a stressful meeting and was eager to get home.”

Jon grimaced. “You were going fifty in a thirty-five. Not bad enough that a rookie cop like me would take your license away, but it’s nothing to sneeze at either.”

She shut her eyes and put her head in her hands. “Shit.” She could not afford a hit on her record and she could not afford a speeding ticket. How could she have been so reckless? At least he didn’t know she’d been drinking. “I’m such an idiot, I can’t believe I did that. Fuck.”

“Hey, take it easy,” Jon said gently. “I know you, Daenerys, and you’re not an idiot. Everybody has those days. Besides, I’m not gonna give you a ticket, so you can relax.”

Dany looked up at him to make sure he was serious. His brow was crinkled like he was actually concerned about her and his eyes were perfectly serious. “Thank you,” she mumbled.

“Don’t worry ‘bout it,” he said warmly, the corner of his mouth turning up in a smirk. “Just remember you owe me one.” She couldn’t help smiling at the look on his face, which only made his grin widen as he stepped back from her car. “See you around, Daenerys.”

 

\------------------

 

It was just a few days later that she was out again, this time with Missandei, Irri, and Sansa at Wildling’s, the hole in the wall bar that had the best deal on birthday drinks in Winterfell. Missandei hated parties and attention, so they had picked Wildling’s to celebrate her 23rd birthday because, as Dany pointed out to her, with free rail drinks, she could quickly get drunk enough not to mind the attention.

Sure enough, at only nine o’clock, Missandei was singing along to the jukebox at full volume with Irri, Sansa, and Dany singing backup. Wildling’s was packed shoulder to shoulder save for the small dance space by the jukebox, Tormund the bartender’s roaring laughter arcing through the crowd. As the song changed and the other girls laughed, Dany took a cursory look around the bar to make sure no one was paying them an abnormal amount of attention. That was her job, at least when it came to Missandei and Irri, to help them return to normal life without the interference of their exes or other troublesome males. Irri was finally job-hunting, nearing the end stage of her stay with Dany at the House with the Red Door, and the last thing Dany wanted was a surprise run-in while Irri was a few drinks in to knock her off her carefully-constructed ladder. And if poor Missandei’s ex saw her singing in a bar, Dany shuddered to think of the consequences.

“Scoping for a dance partner?” Sansa asked, elbowing Dany in the ribs.

Dany gritted her teeth and gave Sansa a fake smile that would only fool the two drunker girls across the table. “Not exactly.”

Sansa’s jaw tightened. “You’re never actually off the clock, are you? Do you sleep, Daenerys?”

Dany shrugged. “Sure. About five hours a night.”

The red-haired attorney sighed and set down her martini. “You need to find a balance. If you don’t, you’re going to burn out and then you won’t be a help to anybody.”

“I know…”

Sansa threw up her hands. “So, go find a guy to dance with! Trust me, bad singing or not, I am sober enough to keep an eye on things. The world will not end.”

Dany sighed and looked out at the bar again. Find a guy to dance with…easier said than done.

After a few minutes of scoping, Sansa sucked in her breath. “Oh, perfect! Jon’s here, you should dance with him. He’s as painfully serious as you are.”

Her stomach rolled over, though she couldn’t say why. Maybe it was the bourbon. “Jon your foster brother that joined the army?”

“Yes, he moved back a couple weeks ago. He’s a cop now. Don’t tell me you couldn’t use a good guy to relax a bit with?” Sansa pointed through the crowd to where Dany could see Jon squeezed in around an open spot at the bar with two fellow off-duty cops: Sansa’s sister Arya Stark and Winterfell’s most serious cop who went by his last name only, Greyworm. Jon must’ve felt their eyes on him because a moment later, he looked up and locked eyes with Dany. For a moment, time seemed to stand still and all the noise of the bar sank underwater and all the movement of far more people than was legally permissible faded to a blur. It was just her and Jon, whose smile slowly became a knowing grin. Sansa waved at him and Dany felt a nervous quivering in her gut as Jon said something to Arya, then wove his way across the bar towards them. “Here he comes. Come on, Dany, it’ll be fine. You remember Jon.”

_Yes, I remember him from school and I also remember him from getting pulled over the other night._

Jon stepped up to their table and wrapped an arm around Sansa’s shoulders. “Hey Sansa. Daenerys, it’s good to see you,” he said, smiling warmly at Daenerys, as if he had no recollection of pulling her over. “What’s up?”

“We’re celebrating a birthday!” Sansa said dramatically, gesturing to Missandei and Irri, who were still singing over their drinks. “And Daenerys is doing more thinking than drinking, as per usual.”

Jon frowned. “Who’s driving?”

Sansa raised her martini in a toast to him. “Me, unless I need another martini to make up for Daenerys’s seriousness.”

Jon took a sip of his drink, which looked like bourbon to Dany. “Well, if she’s not drinking, maybe she should be dancing instead of drinking and then she can be the designated driver.”

Dany grimaced and Sansa glared at the face. “That’s what I was thinking, but she needs a dance partner.”

 _What I need is a hole in the head to save me from this conversation_ , Dany thought grimly.

Jon raised an eyebrow and stiffened visibly. “Is that why I’m here?”

Sansa shoved his arm insistently. “Yes, obviously! Come on, Jon, dance with her!”

Jon groaned and threw back the last of his bourbon, then held out his hand to Dany. “Come on, Daenerys. I’ll warn you, I’m a terrible dancer, but there’s no use arguing when she’s like this.”

Sansa shot a wide-eyed look at Dany and gestured at her. “Go on!” Dany rolled her eyes and took a final hit of bourbon in hopes that it would make this more bearable. She slid off her bar stool and turned for the dance floor to find Jon waiting, his hand still outstretched to take hers. She gulped as her stomach flipped and she wished she’d just had another drink instead. Whatever Jon said about being a poor dancer, he couldn’t be as bad as her, so stiff from worry that she hardly found the inspiration to move. She took his hand with quivering fingers and he gently clasped them, tugging her forward. They reached the dance floor just as the song changed to “Bottoms Up,” which earned a round of screams and hoots, the loudest coming from Sansa and Irri.

Jon turned to her and breathed a sigh. “Well, at least it’s not a cheesy pop song.”

“True,” she said wryly. “I’m sorry for this. I guess I owe you two now.”

Jon grinned and shrugged, “I’m not gonna hold this against you. It’s not often I get to dance with the most beautiful woman in the room, so it’s not like I’m losing out here.” She didn’t know what to say to that, her tongue suddenly heavy. Jon tipped his head at her. “Should we dance?”

“I don’t really know how,” she said.

He shrugged, his grey button-down tightening around his broad shoulders. “I don’t really know either. But if we just move our hips to the beat, I think that’s close enough.” Dany laughed and Jon’s smile widened. He began to shift his hips from side to side with the beat of the music and very slowly reached out to lay his palms on her hipbones, moving her in time with his body. “See? This isn’t so bad.”

Dany couldn’t help laughing again and smiling as she looked up into his eyes. Maybe it was the alcohol, but his grey eyes looked dark, almost black, and molten, like glistening obsidian. His hair was in wild locks around his face that begged for her fingers to run through them. And the way his mouth looked when he grinned like that? It was sinful.

Abstractly, she knew that if not for that second bourbon such thoughts would have complete derailed her and sent her walking right out of the bar. But she was tipsy and the music was good and she was lonely, had been lonely for so damn long that all it took to get her hot were his warm hands on her hips. She felt a flush building on her face and neck and hoped like hell that he’d attribute it to dancing or drinking. Was she seriously getting turned on by a guy she hardly knew but was dancing with a Wildling’s?

Yes. Yes, she was.

Jon took a step closer and carefully nudged her with his hands on her. “Turn around,” he said, his voice low and rough. She couldn’t help it, she obeyed. His hands found her hipbones again, his fingers splayed down over her upper thighs, and he held her against him, their hips swaying together as one. She could feel the planes of his muscles pressed against her back and his thighs were rock-hard. Her breath and blood began to race through her body. “This okay?” he asked, his gravelly voice right at her ear.

She swallowed hard, begging her voice to come out normal and not high and breathy like it threatened. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

He was still leaned in as they moved together, swaying side to side, the heat of his body melting her muscles. “You know, you’re not a bad dancer, Daenerys,” he said, his breath hot on her ear. “You’re a hell of a lot better than me.”

She snorted in disbelief and, on impulse, laid her hands over his so her fingers nested between them. “You’re not such a bad dancer yourself, Jon Snow.”

“I just needed a good partner,” he said, a smile in his voice.

Through a haze, Dany saw the girls gawking at them, Sansa grinning like a Cheshire cat. “Oh gods,” she said. “They’re totally staring at us.”

Jon sighed. “Hopefully they’re going to tease us for being shit dancers and nothing worse.”

“Sansa is all about the teasing, isn’t she?”

“Oh yeah. Growing up with her for a sister was hell,” Jon said. “She is one of the reasons I never brought a girl home.”

Dany laughed. “I never brought boys home, but it wasn’t the teasing. Viserys could be such a jerk sometimes. I was scared of what he’d do if I brought someone home.”

Jon’s hands on her tightened. “You were scared of your brother?”

“Sometimes.” She shrugged, her throat tight. “Rhaegar’s death broke my family and Viserys was never quite right after. He could be harsh, possessive. Then I married a bodybuilder and Viserys left me alone.” Jon’s whole body went stiff and she knew he was looking at her left hand, which was free of any rings. Before he could ask, she added, “That was a long time ago. I’m not married to a bodybuilder any more, but still no sign of Viserys.”

They weren’t dancing anymore, just standing there, his hands on her hips and her hands on his. “I want you to tell me if you ever hear from him or have problems with anyone else,” he said, his voice dark with severity. “You came home to feel safe and you deserve that.”

She swallowed hard and her chest ached, the words meaning more than he could possibly know. “Thanks, Jon.”

“Always.” He pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head and released her. “We should probably join our audience.”

“Probably.”

When they returned to the table, it was to a chorus of squeals from Missandei and Irri and wide eyes from Sansa. As Dany sat in her stool again, Jon softly asked her for her phone. She dug it out of her purse without a word and handed it to him unlocked. Brow furrowed, he entered in a number and texted it. “There. Whatever you need, give me a call.”

She took the phone back from him, hands shaking. “Thanks.”

Jon smiled and laid a hand on her shoulder. “Drive safe.”

Dany snorted. “If I don’t, I expect I’ll hear from you.”

He grinned and stepped back, melting into the crowd. When he was gone, Dany turned back to her girlfriends, who looked ready to leap over the table. “So that was hot as fuck,” Irri said, her eyes like saucers.

Sansa grabbed Dany’s arm. “Why didn’t you tell me you had a thing for Jon?”

Her hands went up in defense. “I didn’t!”

Sansa tipped her head in disbelief. “Well, if you didn’t then, you definitely do now.”

Her mouth opened, then shut, defeated. Slowly, she shrugged and said, “Well, can you blame me?”

“Why the fuck did you stopped dancing?” Irri asked incredulously. “Get back out there!”

Missandei smacked Irri’s shoulder softly. “Maybe she didn’t want you watching while Jon Snow seduced her.”

Dany raised her glass to Missandei with a tight smile. “Right on. Besides, tonight is all about you, M, not me.”

Missandei grimaced and clinked glasses with her, then threw hers back with a wince. “Yep,” she hissed. “And tomorrow’s going to be all about me vomiting and nursing a headache.”

“We’ll take care of you,” Dany said.

Missandei smiled warmly, her eyes shining with gratitude. “You always do.”

Dany reached across the table to grip her fingers. “That’s my job. Sansa, go get another martini. You’re crashing in room five tonight.”

Sansa sighed, but with little prodding got up and made her way to the bar, calling back to them, “Perfect! You know room five is my favorite.”

Missandei raised an eyebrow. “Why is five her favorite? I thought I was lucky to have three.”

Irri snorted. “Five has blackout curtains. Sansa bought them herself…she calls five the hangover room.”

The girls laughed and Missandei looked to Dany again. “So, what do I have to do to get blackout curtains in my room?”

Dany smirked. “Sneak into five and steal those.”

 

\------------------

 

The House with the Red Door was dark and quiet when they got home, Dany leading the way up the sidewalk with the other girls stumbling and giggling behind her. She unlocked the red front door with her keys, one for the door handle and one for the deadbolt, and slipped in quickly to key in the security code. There was a scuffling of toenails on hardwood and whines and barks from the laundry room. The girls followed her into the dark foyer, turning on lights as they made for the bathroom or the stairs, and Dany armed the security system again behind them, locking both locks and the security deadbolt. “Where are my babies?” she called. She made straight for the laundry room and opened the door to a chorus of loving whines and roos. The three pitbulls knocked her right to the kitchen floor, drowning her in kisses. “Drogon, get off me!” she hissed to the big black dog on her chest. He did as he was told and Viserion, all white, and Rhaegal, grey with a white chest, backed off enough to let her sit up. She stretched out her arms and managed to wrap all three of them in a tight hug. “Oh, I missed you too, babies. Come on. Let’s go outside.”

She let them out into the backyard with its six-foot fence, again disarming the security system to let them out and then to let them back in. The house was an old Victorian with creaky stairs, worn hardwood floors, drafty windows, and small rooms, but it had plenty of advantages. Like the chance to wire in a high-end security system at the same time she had the electrical redone, and the number of bedrooms and bathrooms it offered the women who stayed there. And there was the best advantage of all: because of its age, she had gotten the house for a steal and was able to pay it off using part of Drogo’s life insurance policy. She owned this place free and clear.

Dany paused at the downstairs bathroom door, knocking softly. “All good?”

“Ugh…I’ll let you know tomorrow,” Irri responded.

“You know where to find me if you need anything. Feel better!” With that, she climbed the spiral staircase carefully, wondering how Missandei and Sansa had managed it drunk. On the way up, she stopped on the second floor landing to knock on the door with an iron number three on it. “Goodnight, Missandei.”

“Mmm…goodnight, Dany,” Missandei answered with a groan.

At the third floor, she knocked on the door to room five and said softly, “Goodnight, Sansa. Thanks for everything tonight.”

“G’night, Dany. My pleasure.”

From there, she and the dogs took the staircase up to the attic door and entered. Up here, the ceiling angled in either direction, following the rooflines down to the third floor walls. There was one pentagonal window above the bed that looked out at the street, short closet cupboards built into the rafters, an overflowing bookcase, and a desk covered in papers and an old laptop where she paid bills, ran background checks, did research for legal cases, and whatever else the House needed. The dogs leapt up onto the bed eagerly, as tired as her from waiting up until the girls got home.

Dany undressed slowly, her head fuzzy from the last lingering effects of the bourbon and from weariness. Yesterday’s pajamas were laying on the floor and she dressed in those, then sat on the bed to undo her braids for sleep. An irrational part of her mind pictured Jon sitting behind her on the bed, undoing the braids for her while he whispered in her ear the way he had on the dance floor. But the image was gone in a moment.

Things like that weren’t hers to have anymore.


	2. Gorgeous Beasts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for the kind comments on my first chapter! I haven't published something this way before and am floored by how much the feedback helped to motivate me. All day watching the comments hit my phone, all I wanted to do was get home and write. So I wrote, and to thank you for the support, here is the next chapter I was able to finish right away with your help. :)

            The next morning, she got up long before the other girls stirred, made a pot of tea and a pot of coffee, drank a cup of English breakfast, then mowed the small lawn and watered the perennials.  As she climbed the steps to the back deck, she felt one squeak and give more than usual and stopped to study the deckboards.  They were a few years overdue for restaining, that she’d known, but on closer inspection some of them were beginning to warp, split, and rot.  She groaned to herself.  The whole deck would need to be redone and she was not looking forward to the job, but with her luck she’d be the one getting splinters all summer if she didn’t do it soon.

            It was a Saturday at least, as good a day as any to start a project, so she measured out the deck and used a calculator to work out how many feet of two-by-fours she’d need.  She left a Post-It by the coffee and tea in case anyone got up before she returned from the hardware store and departed, her dogs trailing her to the small truck and jumping in.  Drogon sat in the front seat, as usual, while Viserion and Rhaegal rode on the back bench seat.

            The hardware store was quiet, but she knew from experience doing other projects on the house that before long it would be swelling with people like her.  She found a box of deck screws and a bag of rawhides for the dogs, then headed for the lumber counter.  Dany rang the bell twice and was finally rewarded by the arrival of Robert, the three-hundred-pound hardware store owner.  Robert smiled widely at her, like a frog, and leaned over the counter to ask, “Well, what can I do for you, little lady?”

            Dany gritted her teeth, a part of her wanting to deck Robert and knock that lecherous smile off his face.  She cleared her throat and handed him the Post-It on which she’d written her measurements.  “I’m redoing my deck.  I need some two-by-fours.”

            Robert raised an eyebrow as he took the Post-It, still smiling broadly.  “ _You_ are redoing a deck?  Do you own a drill?”

            Dany gritted her teeth harder.  “Yes.  Do you have that much in stock?”

            Robert nodded and proceeded to begin typing up the order.  The bell over the front door dinged and Robert looked up, but then turned his attention back to Dany, specifically to the tight white tank-top she had thought nothing of that morning but now regretted.  “So, I, uh, don’t see you around much,” he said slowly.

            Dany swallowed hard, her pulse racing with anger, violation, and a sliver of fear.  She folded her arms over her chest to hold in the feelings.  “I keep to myself,” she said tightly.

            “That’s a shame,” Robert returned, smiling broadly to show off crooked teeth.

            A warm hand rested on Dany’s lower back and it took every muscle in her body to keep her from jumping.  “Is everything all right here?” Jon asked, stepping up beside her. 

She watched as Robert stiffened and made a point to look only at his computer screen.  “Yeah,” she said, her voice slightly faint.  “Fine.”

            Jon slid his hand to her left hip, wrapping his arm around her, careful to only just barely touch her.  He was wearing an army t-shirt and jeans and the heat radiating from his arm seeped right through her tank-top.  A receipt printed and Robert slid it across the counter without looking at her, save maybe for a glance at Jon’s hand on her hip.  “Just bring this up to the front when you’re ready.  Do you have a trailer or something?”

            “A truck bed.”

            “Sounds good.  We’ll get everything ready for you.”

            “Good.”  Dany turned away from Robert and Jon released her as they walked away.  She shut her eyes hard, hating the way her skin was crawling over something so minor.

            “You okay?” Jon asked softly.

            “Fine.  Just an idiot male.  No offense.”

            “None taken.  Slugs like him give the rest of us a bad name.”

            Dany looked to him then, taking in the worried crease in his brow and the tightness in his jaw.  “Thanks.  If he tried to look down my shirt again, I was planning to punch him.”

            Jon smiled.  “As much as I’d have liked to see that, then I would’ve had to take care of your injured hand.”

            “Always so thoughtful.”  She paused at an endcap that held dog harnesses, frowning at them.  Maybe three of them would make dog walks physically possible.  “So, what brings you to my rescue?”

            He pointed to the rawhides in her hand.  “Looking for those.  The grocery store didn’t have Ghost’s brand.”

            She led him down the next aisle to the dog treats and he selected a large bag of bones.  “I thought mine had appetites,” Dany said.  “What kind of dog is Ghost?”

            “He’s a white Swiss Shepherd.  Ninety pounds of muscle and hair.  I used to own a brown couch but he trashed it shedding all over it.  Do you want to meet him?”

            Dany’s eyebrows shot up.  “He’s here with you?”

            “Yeah, why?”

            She grimaced, imagining the scene in the parking lot.  At least she’d parked closer to the lumber yard…maybe Jon had parked by the door, well away from her truck?  “Because depending on where you parked, my asshole dogs might be making a bit of a scene.”

            Jon laughed, the sound rough and warm, enough to uncurl a bit of the tension in her spine.  “They’ll be disappointed.  Ghost doesn’t bark unless he’s on duty and trying to intimidate someone.”

            Her jaw dropped.  “He doesn’t bark?”

            Jon shrugged sheepishly.  “Seemed like a good thing to train him for.  He used to be an army dog, so I had to train him to only do specific things at specific times.  Like barking for intimidation.”

            Drogon had intimidation down pat, that was for sure.  That was why she’d adopted three pitbull puppies in the first place two years ago.  Stopping the barking was a whole other matter.  “Any chance you’d be willing to spend some time with my pits?  During the day all they do is bark.”

            Jon’s eyes lit up liked she’d offered a kid tickets to an amusement park.  “You have pitbulls?  Yeah, I’d love to.”

            “Three of them.  You might want to meet them before you commit yourself….”

            He laughed again and her spine uncurled a little more.  She had forgotten how much she liked Jon.  They hadn’t spent much time hanging out in school, both being quieter kids in different social circles, but they’d shared a few classes.  They’d had a mild rivalry in their junior year of US History competing for top scores on tests, that she remembered.  “I’d love to meet them,” Jon said warmly, as if no dog was too ferocious.  “Come on, let’s go.”

            They checked out and went out into the rapidly warming parking lot.  Jon was parked near the door, as she’d hoped, but between the door and the lumber yard.  She’d left the windows of her truck cracked about a third of the way and Drogon and Rhaegal both her their blocky heads out far enough that they had to be choking themselves, barking and howling like fools at Jon’s black F150.  A massive white Shepherd was sitting in the driver’s seat by a window fully rolled down, quietly watching Drogon and Rhaegal with a pink tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth.  Dany sighed and rolled her eyes, gesturing at her beasts.  “They’re sweet dogs, I swear, but they have no manners.”

            Jon snorted and she turned to find him smirking.  He stepped around his truck to put the bag of bones in the back.  “Ghost, out of my spot,” he said quietly but firmly.  Ghost did as he was told, moving to the passenger side by Dany without a second thought.  She grinned and stepped up to the open window.  She eyed Jon on the other side of the truck.  “Do I have to greet him a certain way?”

            He shrugged.  “Only when he’s on duty.  He’s good now.”

            She reached out to Ghost, who dutifully licked her hand like he was kissing the ring of a queen.  Dany couldn’t help a blush at the thought and buried her hand in the thick fur of his neck and ears.  “You are such a gentleman,” she said to Ghost.  “You must be roasting in this coat, but no complaints from you, huh?”

            Jon laughed and said, “You should’ve seen him in Iraq.  I swear he was shedding half a dog every day.”

            She met his eyes and felt something click in her brain, though she didn’t know what.  “That’s where you were?  Iraq?”

            He nodded, his face tightening.  “Two tours.  We’d planned to go on one more, but…well, it was time to go home.”

            She nodded, letting the subject drop.  There was a reason why he didn’t go back, a significant reason, but she knew better than to push him, especially when he hadn’t pushed her last night about her family and Drogo.  She released Ghost and walked around the truck to lead him to her savage beasts, who were still barking and moaning, probably further distressed by her meeting Ghost.  The barking for the most part turned to whining as she approached and put her hands on Drogon’s head, rubbing his ears.  “This is Drogon.  The grey one is Rhaegal.  And Viserion is the shy white one.”

            Jon grinned and walked right up to Rhaegal, catching his blocky head between his hands and rubbing his face and neck.  Rhaegal immediately quieted and stretched out towards Jon in appreciation.  “Gorgeous beasts. You are sweet, aren’t you?  Why are you so noisy, upsetting your mom, though?”  Jon leaned his forehead on Rhaegal’s and Rhaegal shut his eyes, panting happily.  Something inside Dany’s chest warmed and melted at the sight and her hands stilled on Drogon’s head in awe.  Nose to nose with Rhaegal, Jon scratched him under his chin, earning a kiss right on the mouth for it.  Jon just grinned.  “Good boy.”  He looked to Drogon then and nodded towards him.  “May I?”

            Dany stepped back from Drogon and let Jon approach the muscly black dog with the same lack of fear that he’d done with Rhaegal.  Drogon was unsure at first, but was quickly panting and offering kisses just as Rhaegal had.  “Have you tried letting a trainer work with them?” he asked.

            She swallowed hard.  “Yeah.  Drogon barked and lunged at him and then he refused to work with any of them.”

            Jon shook his head and hissed in distaste.  “Everybody’s scared of pits.  It’s not that Drogon’s a bad dog, he just might have a bit of a protection problem.  I’m guessing you were holding his leash when this happened?”

            “Yeah.”

            He nodded.  “Intentionally or not, you’ve trained Drogon to be your protector.  You were nervous about the training session, he sensed that you were nervous, and when he saw a male walking towards you both, he told him to back off in dog language.  If that’s what you want him to do, it’s not a problem.  Ghost has mauled people’s legs and arms to the point of dislocating limbs, but he was on duty and that’s what I asked him to do.”  Jon looked to her and shrugged.  “I’d love to work with them, at least on the noise level.  Just tell me what you want.”

            She swallowed hard again, unnerved by his assessment of the dogs.  “Well, I suppose I did train them to be protection dogs.  Just not very well, I guess.  I run the House with the Red Door.” Jon’s face cleared and then tightened again at the name, probably the same way her expression had changed when he talked about Iraq.  “Your coworkers would know of it, it’s a shelter for abused women.  The two girls Sansa and I were out with last night are my current housemates.”

            “Ah,” Jon said.  “In that case, I would love to work with them and get them to where you actually want them to be.  They’re doing their jobs, that’s why they bark all day and whine when they can hear you but not be by you.  But they could be doing their jobs better.  If they’re better trained, you’ll be able to take them on walks and introduce them to people without straining your shoulder holding that leash.”

            She felt her eyes light up as she pictured Drogon sitting politely instead of scaring a new girl at the House half to death.  “That would be amazing.”

            Jon smiled warmly.  “Cool.  I work night shift tonight.  If you want, I could come over and help you unload that lumber and then work with them a little.”

            A wave of relief washed over her and an ache between her shoulder blades lifted.  “Oh gods, that would be great.  I’d really appreciate it.  I’ll even feed you lunch.”

            “Deal.”

\------------------

            She was in the kitchen stirring taco meat when Sansa made an appearance, fully freshened up and bright-eyed, as usual.  “Do I smell coffee?”

            Dany smiled and poured her a mug.  “There’s French vanilla creamer in the fridge if you want it.”

“This will do just fine.”  She shut her blue eyes and took a cautious sip, then moaned.  “Mmm…black like my soul.  It’s perfect.”  She opened her eyes then and asked, “What are you looking at outside?”

            Dany blushed and turned back to her taco meat.  She had been watching Jon doing leash training with Rhaegal, walking in this direction, then that direction, training Rhaegal to pay attention and follow him.  It was fascinating.  When she’d let the dogs out of the car and he’d gotten his first look at Viserion, Jon had melted, immediately dropping to sit cross-legged on the pavement while Viserion watched from a distance.  “What happened to his ears?” he’d asked in a hushed voice. 

Tears had burnt her eyes just at the thought and she’d said softly, “His previous owner cut them off, probably intending to make him a fight dog.  I rescued the three of them from the shelter when they were about six months old.”

“It always makes me sick to think of someone doing something like that to a dog.  Could you walk him towards me?”

She had and Jon had used a combination of softly-spoken words and crouching down low to convince Viserion, after some trepidation, to come close enough for a neck rub.  Jon didn’t touch his head, though, keeping his hands well away from Viserion’s ears.  “He loves you?” Jon had asked.

“Without question.”

“Touch his head and ears as much as you can.  It’ll help him get over the fear a little.”

“I will.”

“Dany?” Sansa asked, breaking Dany from the memory.  “Is that my brother playing with your dogs?”

Dany swallowed anxiously and turned the taco meat down to low heat, moving instead to prepare some guacamole.  “Yes.  I ran into him at the hardware store and he offered to help me train them.”

Sansa raised an eyebrow.  “Did he unload all that lumber for you too?” she asked, pointing to the pile of lumber by the deck.

“Not all of it!” she protested.  If she’d allowed that, he might’ve ended up shirtless by the end and that would’ve started her mind rolling on how to repay him for the things she owed him for.  “He just helped me with it, that’s all.”

Sansa rolled her eyes and took a long sip of coffee.  “Yep, I’m sure that’s all,” she said dryly.

Dany gave her a withering look.  “You know I’ve been looking for a trainer for the dogs and you know how much it would’ve sucked to unload all that lumber by myself.  And you practically threw him at me last night, so don’t give me that crap.”

“What is it for?”

“The lumber?  It’s for the deck.  I was out there doing yardwork this morning and realized that some of the boards are splitting and rotting.  The whole thing needs to be ripped out and redone.”

Sansa grimaced.  “Eesh.  Let me know when you decide to do that.  I’ll bring beer and watch.”

Dany snorted.  “Beer is appreciated, I suppose.”

Sansa perched on a bar stool and set down her coffee cup, watching Dany dice a tomato.  “I didn’t get to ask you last night, was my advice helpful?  Are we still going after him?”

“It was helpful and we’re definitely still going after him,” Dany said firmly, gripping her knife and meeting Sansa’s eyes fiercely.  “You know the reason M wears so much makeup is because that bastard scarred her face?  When she came to me, those scars were fresh wounds from a busted bottle.  That asshole deserves to rot in prison.”

“There are risks.  Most of the evidence is circumstantial…”

“You told me.  But we need him put away for M’s sake.”

Sansa nodded, her eyes like ice.  “So be it.  We’ll just have to nail his ass to the wall then.”  Dany nodded and squeezed half a lime into the guacamole, then stirred it.  Sansa stood and opened the nearest window wide.  “You know what you should be doing is installing A/C in this place.”

Dany shrugged.  “It’d be great at some point.  The house has good airflow with the windows, though, and summer here only seems to last a week.”

“True enough.”

A howl of laughter erupted from the backyard and Dany and Sansa both spun to watch out the window as Jon laid in the grass being trampled by the dogs.  Viserion was currently drowning him in kisses while Drogon and Rhaegal raced through the yard, stomping on him every time they passed.  Dany chuckled and a warm smile filled her face, making her wonder when she’d last smiled like that.  It must’ve been when they had the ultrasound done a thousand years ago.

“Who is making all that noise?” Missandei moaned, descending the stairs.  Dany poured a cup of hot tea and had it ready to put in Missandei’s hands when she reached the kitchen, her face crinkled at the bright sunlight and her afro even wilder than usual with odd lumps and random escaping locks.  “Oh, thank gods,” she whispered into the mug of tea.

“Jon is here,” Sansa said slyly.  “He’s making friends with Dany’s children.”

Missandei snorted and joined Sansa at the window.  After a long moment, she turned to Dany and pointed at Jon.  “You are going to marry this man, right?”

Dany rolled her eyes.  “He’s just training the dogs, let’s not order the cake and flowers just yet, huh?”

Sansa snickered.  “Well, when you do, I vote for a layer of lemon cake.”

Dany just shook her head.  “Any sign of life from Irri?”

Missandei eyed the taco fixings warily.  “When I went by her room, she didn’t sound well enough to eat if that’s what you mean.”

“Okay.”  Dany made her way around the counter, pausing to touch Missandei’s elbow reassuringly.  “Go heavy on the guac and lettuce, they’ll settle your stomach.”  At the patio door, she keyed in the security code, then went out onto her rotting deck to watch Jon play with the dogs.  He was rubbing the sides of Viserion’s face while Rhaegal sniffed his wild black curls, but upon Dany’s appearance he looked to her.  She smiled at the scene, then said to him, “Lunch is ready.”

“Cool.  Thanks!”  Jon gave Viserion a kiss on the top of his head, then eased himself free of the dogs and to his feet.  Fresh cut grass clung to his shirt and jeans and his dogtags lay on his chest hanging from a narrow chain.  He ran his fingers back through his inky curls so they were not falling over his face and something in the pit of her stomach turned warm and molten.  “You have some amazing dogs,” he said as he approached her.  “They’ll learn fast.”

She swallowed all the strange, unnamed feelings bubbling inside her and smiled tightly.  “Thanks again for working with them.  I gave them some training when they were little, but I’m not exactly an expert.”

From where he stood on the grass, they were the same height, his strange grey eyes locked with her violet ones.  He leaned an arm on the deck rail and asked quietly, “So, what made you decide to adopt three pits?”

Her jaw clenched and she had to look down away from his eyes for a moment to collect her thoughts.  “After my husband…was gone, I was very lonely and every little noise would make me jump.  I felt so…vulnerable and empty.  I needed someone to be responsible for and to care for, someone who would make me feel stronger and safer.  I figured a dog would be a good fit.  When I saw the three of them all snuggled together at the shelter, hiding from a world that had hurt them as bad as it had hurt me, I couldn’t look away.  I knew three pitbulls would be a challenge, but I wanted the challenge.”

Jon’s eyes had gone dark and serious by the time she met them again.  Softly, he asked, “Did it work?  Did they fill that void for you?”

She shrugged.  “They helped.  Coming back and starting the House helped.  And that’s enough, I suppose.  I don’t know if I’ll ever really be able to fill the void.  It’s a part of me now.”

He frowned deeply, his brow scrunching together in concern, and he reached out to wrap his hand around her wrist, his thumb softly brushing the heel of her hand.  “I hope you find what you’re looking for.  A woman like you shouldn’t feel like anything is missing.”

Unexpected tears pricked her eyes and she looked up into the sunlight to burn them away.  “Thanks, Jon.”

 

\------------------

 

            Sansa surprised Dany by reining in her teasing during lunch, her crystal-blue eyes always watching and analyzing.  Her ability to see right through people and navigate around them was what had initially made her a good fit for the House as their go-to pro bono lawyer, but those qualities sometimes made Dany nervous.  She had let Sansa in to some degree…there was only so much she could keep quiet…but there was plenty she didn’t want even her closest friend to know right now. 

            Jon’s dark grey eyes worked the opposite way.  Instead of slicing through you, they drew you in, all smoldering darkness and ash, showing you a whole palette of emotions, just enough to bring you in close, but not enough to tell you where those emotions came from.  It was an irresistible quality, one that had nearly turned her into a puddle of tears out on the deck.  The ability to effortlessly bring people in exactly as close as you wanted them was a trait that she envied but would never possess.  She would always need to put on a whole façade like armor to keep people out.  The Dany who never slept, who was always there as a shoulder to cry on, who would stand up in court no matter the risk the defendant posed and testify against him when those girls couldn’t.  That was who she had to be and the House kept her safely locked in her armor.

            Jon Snow was breaking away that armor bit by bit with those eyes of his, with his low, rough voice in her ear, with those powerful muscles that told her he’d keep her safe, with all that baggage that made her wonder if he could take hers too without walking away.

            After he left that afternoon, departing with a promise to be back the next day, his day off, to work with the dogs some more, she slipped upstairs without a word to Sansa and Missandei and disappeared into her bathroom, the door firmly locked behind her.  She cranked the water up as high as it would go and stood in the shower crying, feeling lonelier and more vulnerable than she’d been since before she got the dogs.  He was wrenching open a hole in her heart that she’d thought she’d soldered shut, a hole that she needed to stay shut if she wanted her armor kept intact.

            When the tears ran out, she could feel his warm breath on her ear as he whispered, “A woman like you shouldn't feel like anything is missing.”  His hands, at once powerful and gentle, were on her hips again, the fingertips digging into her thighs.  The hardness of his thigh muscles pressed against the backs of her legs and her ass.  He was not tall by guy standards, Drogo would have had a foot on him, but he was tall enough and well-toned enough to make her feel safe in his arms. 

            Before she knew it, her hand had slipped down between her legs and that whisper on her ear had become a kiss on her jawline, another kiss on her throat, another on her shoulder.  She wanted him out of her head, wanted her armor back, but yet she needed him inside her, needed his kiss on her skin.  It took a fraction of the time it usually did and she shattered so completely that she ended up curled in the bottom of the tub with the water still beating down on her as she recovered.

            A nice guy to help her relax.  That’s all he had to be.  She was strong enough, she didn’t need to let him inside her head.  She could protect her mind and he could protect the rest of her.


	3. Working the Night Shift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for the kind and helpful comments! It means the world to me. :)

            That night, she woke in a panic to the sound of the dogs barking and tearing around the house like they were fighting off an invasion.  The moment her eyes snapped wide open, she grabbed her Kimber 1911 off the nightstand, pulled back and let the action go with a _crack_ , jammed her cellphone in her waistband, then bolted down the stairwell with the gun resting in her hands pointing straight ahead.  As she rushed down the stairs, she passed both Irri and Missandei peeking out of their rooms in terror and mouthed a “Shh” to both of them.  She prayed to God it wasn’t Missandei’s ex standing on her front porch.  Or Viserys.

            When she reached the foyer, all the lights still off and the dogs still barking like mad, she heard the knock on the door.  “Hey Daenerys, open up!  It’s Jon, I’m here on business.”

            Her forehead creased in confusion and she lowered the gun, stepping ahead of the dogs and laying a hand on Drogon’s head softly, then Rhaegal’s.  The dogs quieted down to a threatening growl and waited on her heels as she unbolted the door and cracked it, not yet putting in the security code.  Outside, Jon stood on her front porch in his police blues, a girl even shorter than her with wide eyes and a screaming babe waiting a step behind him.  Dany hurriedly put in the security code and slipped out onto the porch, jamming her gun into the waistband of her pajama pants.  She stretched out a hand to the girl and said softly, “Hey there.  My name is Dany, I run the shelter here.  What’s your name?”

            The girl swallowed nervously, but shook her hand.  “I’m Gilly and this is Sam.”

            “It’s nice to meet you, Gilly,” Dany said, keeping her voice as level and soothing as possible.  “You’re safe here.  All that fanfare you just heard is what happens when someone we didn’t invite shows up on our property.  Nobody’s going to be able to hurt you here.  Do you believe me?”

            Gilly nodded, brown eyes still wide.

            Dany nodded back.  “Now, what I’m going to do, is I’m going to let the dogs meet you.  They know Officer Snow and they like women, so you have nothing to fear from them, okay?”  The girl nodded nervously and Dany added, “If you want, you can let Officer Snow hold Sam for a second until the dogs calm down.  It’s up to you.”

            Gilly looked to Jon and hesitated, then held out Sam to him.  Jon looked stiff and anxious at the prospect, but immediately softened once Sam was in his arms.  “Hey there, little guy,” he said softly.  “You’ve been so brave for your mom tonight.  You’re doing a great job.”

            “Are you ready?” Dany asked Gilly.  Poor Gilly didn’t look like she’d ever be ready, but she nodded.  Dany slowly reached back to turn the door handle and reached through the gap to hit the security code.  Then, she crouched down to the dogs’ level and said in a low, smooth voice.  “Thank you, babies.  Good job.  I have someone for you to meet now, okay?  You need to be nice.  Ready?”  The growls had morphed into whines, so she gradually opened the front door, holding out her arms to slow down the dogs as they wound their way past to Gilly and Jon.  At the sight of Jon, the dogs whined, rooed, and wagged their tails excitedly, then they carefully sniffed Gilly all around and licked her shaking hands happily when she offered them.  “See?” Dany said softly.  “Nothing to be afraid of.”

            Gilly took a shaky breath, then nodded and took Sam back from Jon.  Dany held the front door open wide and gestured inside.  “Come on in.  I’ll make you some hot tea to help you relax and I’ll make up a room for you.”  Gilly nodded and moved past Dany into the dark house as she flicked on the foyer light.  The dogs went with her, still sniffing and nudging in interest.  Dany looked back out to Jon on the porch and he smiled at her, warmth in his eyes.  “You’re good at this.”

            She shrugged, but a warm bubble expanded in her chest and she found herself smiling a little too.  “Thanks.  It’s what I do.  Come on in, I expect we have some paperwork to trade.”

            Once they were inside, Dany called up the stairwell, “Ladies!  We have a new roommate.  Come say hello.”  As Missandei and Irri shyly made their way from their rooms to the stairwell, Dany armed the security system, then led Gilly and Jon to the kitchen, turning on lights as she went.  She put the tea kettle on the stove and prepped a fleet of mugs, then faced Gilly across the counter.  The girl had seated herself at the edge of a barstool, still holding her babe who was now fussing quietly.  She couldn’t be older than twenty-two or so and was wearing a ratty t-shirt and jeans.  Now that she was in the light, Dany could see bruises on the girl’s arms and neck.  Just as the girl was beginning to blush and shrink like a turtle into its shell, Missandei and Irri appeared in their fluffy robes and slippers.  Both smiled shyly at Gilly and Dany said softly, “Girls, this is Gilly and Sam.  Gilly, this is Missandei…” Missandei gave a tiny wave, “…and Irri.  This is everyone who lives here right now.  We do have a couple of empty rooms, so there’s plenty of space for you and Sam and for someone else if they come along needing help.”  Gilly nodded stiffly and Dany asked, “Did you know about us already or did Officer Snow suggest you come here?”

            Gilly swallowed hard and answered in a shaky voice, “I knew about you.  I made plans to come here…when it was time.”

            Dany nodded.  Women with children were often reluctant to leave out of fear for their kids, but once they left they almost never went back for the same reason.  The women with children who came to the House with the Red Door always had plans.  “And tonight it was time.  Well, it’s very nice to have you here and to have you safe.  We look forward to getting to know you a little and helping you however we can.  I expect you know that we help you with every part of starting over here.  We’re here for emotional support, we can refer you to a counselor if you’d like one, we work with the local police to keep you safe and build a court case against your ex if that’s what you want, we have a lawyer who helps us out with that too, and when you’re ready we’ll help you find a job and a new place to live.  You don’t owe us anything except your commitment to helping us keep the House secure.  You’ll get keys and a security code that we’ll ask you to guard with your life.  Nobody walks through those doors without an explicit invite.  Okay?”

            Gilly had begun to tear up partway through the speech and was now red-faced as she choked out the words, “Thank you.”

            Dany smiled.  “No need to thank me.  That’s what we’re here for.”  The kettle was beginning to whistle, so she poured the water into the pot with a chamomile tea for brewing, then said to the girls, “I’m going to go get your room set up, Gilly.  Irri, M, if you could, please finish serving the tea and talk to Gilly for a little bit while I get things ready?”

            Both girls smiled and Irri said, “You bet.”

            Dany turned to Jon, who was already focused on her.  “Would you follow me?  We can talk upstairs.”

            “Sure,” Jon said.  “Lead the way.”

            She did and it was as she was walking up the stairs ahead of him that it occurred to her that she was not only in her jammies, but her jammies included a tight lavender tank-top and no bra underneath.  Her chest and face flushed in embarrassment, but she refused to acknowledge it at this stage in the game.  She was pretty sure all of the Winterfell cops had seen her in a similar state by now, so it wasn’t like her breasts were in the realm of private information anyway.  On the second floor, she led the way to room four, which was the largest room and had a closet stocked with a folded-up pack-and-play, diapers in three sizes, and extra linens.  She turned on the lights and Jon followed her in and watched as she began fetching linens from the closet and making up the bed.  “Did she come to you or did you pick her up?” she asked him.

            Jon’s brow creased seriously and he leaned against the doorjamb.  “I picked her up.  She was the one who called, though.  I sent him with Greyworm to lockup.  He tried to strangle her to death and she escaped and locked herself in Sam’s room, where she’d left her phone.”

            Dany shook her head, her blood bubbling with anger under her skin.  “Husband or boyfriend?”

            Jon sighed sadly and when she looked to him, his eyes were downcast.  “Father.  She explained on the way over that Sam’s dad isn’t in the picture and she had to live at home with her dad and sisters because she couldn’t afford diapers and rent.  Apparently, this has been a problem for a while, but got worse when Sam came along.  She kept crying, saying he always calls her a whore.”

            She hissed and put all of her energy into snapping the creases out of the sheets.  “Asshole fathers are my specialty,” she said darkly.  “Where are the sisters?”

            She heard a soft crunch and realized that it was his jaw locking.  His face was made of stone and his eyes were like blades.  “They decided to stay at the house.”

            Dany dropped the sheets and brought one hand to her temple.  “That means they won’t testify and if we don’t get him he’ll go home to beat on them.”

            “It’s probably why Gilly held off on getting help.  She must’ve known her sisters wouldn’t go with her.”

            Dany ground her teeth together and squeezed her eyes shut tight in frustration.  “I’ll call Sansa first thing in the morning.  Please tell me Gilly’s pressing charges.”

            “She is.  Attempted murder, assault, threatening to kill, and threatening a child.  I got pictures of the bruises Gilly was willing to show me, but you should take some more if she’s okay with it.”

            Dany nodded, a massive headache forming behind her right eye.  She glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand, which read one thirty-six a.m.  Tomorrow would be a long day on only three hours of sleep.  “What do you need from me?”

            Jon straightened.  “For now, just emergency contact info for Gilly.  She already gave a statement and I gave her my contact info so she can let us know if there’s anything else.  What do you need from me?”

            “I have an intake form I need you to fill out part of.  I’ll grab it for you when I finish this.”  She forced herself to focus again on making the bed, smoothing out the yellow patchwork quilt on the mattress.  “Just get it back to me in the next few days.”

            “Sure.  Do you want a hand with the pack-and-play?”

            “That would be great.  That thing is such a bitch.”  Dany moved back to the closet and dragged out the pack-and-play.  Jon took a corner of it and helped her unfold it and lock it in place.  As she grabbed the cushion for it and the stack of soft afghans she kept in the closet, she shot glances at him out of the corner of her eye.  He was watching her, which she tried not to feel self-conscious about.  He looked sexy as all hell in his police uniform, his gun and taser at his hip, his inky curls tied back.  The handcuffs at his hip shot a jolt of warmth through her faster than the image of being handcuffed to a bed even hit her brain and she immediately blushed and turned away, wanting to smack herself for thinking it.  “Thank you,” she mumbled.

            “No problem.”  As she worried at the afghans, straightening and readjusting them, Jon reached out and took her by the elbow, stilling her.  “Hey,” he said softly.  “Are you okay?”

            Dany took a deep breath in, then exhaled before she met his grey eyes, molten with concern.  “I’m fine.  Just a lot of adrenaline, a lot to do tomorrow.  Here I thought my rotting deck was my biggest problem.”

            Jon smiled tightly and released her, then said softly, “Well, if it makes you feel better, when you told me you ran this place I was a little worried about your safety.”

            She raised an eyebrow.  “Yeah?”

            He snorted.  “Yeah.  I’m still worried, but not about you getting hurt by an intruder.  Between your dogs and the way you looked holding that gun, I’m sure Gilly’s dad or whoever else would’ve shit himself.”

            A laugh slipped from her lips and she couldn’t help smiling.  “Thanks.  That does make me feel better.”

            He smiled.  “Good.”

            The moment hung in the air for a few seconds.  She felt strong and safe and like she’d done really well at doing something really good.  She felt appreciated and admired, things she got sometimes from the girls, but not like this.  It felt like molten chocolate in her veins, soothing and comforting.  Then, the moment lifted and she broke free from his dark gaze.  “So, I guess I’ll grab you that form.  You probably have barflies to pull over, right?”

            Jon winced.  “I do.  That’s definitely one of the downsides of this job.”

            She slipped past him into the hallway, acutely aware that she was still braless and his chest for a moment was mere inches from hers.  “Let me just run upstairs to my desk.”

            She found the form in her immaculately organized file drawer and hesitated, eyeing a sweatshirt hanging over the desk chair.  That would solve a pair of embarrassing problems, but just looking at it made her realize that she was sweating with adrenaline.  She left the sweatshirt behind, but did empty the chamber of her gun and leave it on her nightstand.  There was little chance that she would need it now.

            Jon was waiting on the spiral staircase, leaning against the iron railing.  When she started down, she felt his eyes hit her like a searchlight and blushed again.  When she reached him, she offered the form and explained, “I just need that first page filled out.  The rest Gilly and I will do.”

            “Deal,” he said, his voice low and rough.  She realized that she’d paused and that the narrow staircase had them standing only inches apart again.  She could actually feel his breath on her face and his lips were just barely parted so that she wondered what it would feel like to kiss him.

            Alarm bells went off in her head and she shook herself, then hurried down the stairs with Jon following a little slower behind her.  She returned to the kitchen to find Rhaegal licking Sam’s toes as he laughed and the three girls quietly talking over their tea.  She grabbed a mug of tea for herself, then turned to watch Jon enter the kitchen.  He was flushed and she wondered if he’d felt that same tension on the stairs that she had.  “Always a pleasure to see you, ladies.  Gilly, make sure you give me a call if there’s anything you need.”

            “Thank you, Officer Snow.”

            He smiled.  “While you’re living here, it’s Jon.”  His eyes flicked to Dany’s and she could’ve sworn they darkened slightly.  “Goodnight, Daenerys.”

            She swallowed hard.  “Goodnight, Jon.  I’ll let you out.”

            He waved to the room at large, then turned for the front door.  Dany and Drogon followed him and Jon paused at the door to look back at her.  “Nice security system, by the way.”

            “No one sneaks up on me.”

            He hesitated for a moment, then his hand was on her jaw and his lips were on hers, slow, soft, and warm, an injection of peace and heat directly into her veins.  She staggered on her feet and it was his hand on her face that kept her from stumbling over.  When he released her, it took her several long seconds to force her drowsy eyes open, and then her lips were parted and throbbing with want as she stared up into his molten black-grey eyes.  “Sorry,” he whispered.  “Couldn’t help it.”

            Her tongue felt heavy and out of her control as she returned, “I’m sorry you stopped.”

            One corner of Jon’s mouth turned up in a crooked smile and he said, “Me too, but I’m on duty.  I have to go be a hero now.”

            A lazy smile she didn’t recognize stretched across her face.  “Well, I’d hate to keep you, then.”

            His eyes sparked with amusement and he slipped out the front door.  She entered in the code without taking her eyes off him bathed in the light of the front porch.  “See you tomorrow, Daenerys.”

            “See you tomorrow.”

 

\------------------

 

            Dany didn’t go back to sleep that night.  Instead, she switched to a caffeinated chai tea when the three girls went to bed and spent the evening running backgrounds on Gilly, her family, and Sam’s father, doing a lap through the house to check on everything and listen at each door every twenty minutes or so.  After the chaos of Gilly’s arrival, it was a good night for nightmares and she found herself perched on the edge of Gilly’s bed at two-thirty, Missandei’s at three, Irri’s at four, and Missandei’s again at four-thirty.  Little Sam, who was two years old, was the best sleeper of the lot of them.  The dogs took turns doing rounds with her, the ones that were off-duty dozing in her bed fitfully. 

            This had become a routine for her.  Most of the women who came to her came in the middle of the night, so this was not a first-time deal.  Waking up to ferocious barking and racing down the stairs with a gun in her hand was not an isolated occurrence.  This was what happened in her line of work and she was okay with that.

            That kiss, though.  That did not happen in her line of work, hadn’t happened in almost two years, not since her three-week fling with Daario when she’d been attempting to scrub the image of Drogo’s dead body off her retinas.  And even counting Daario and even counting Drogo, she’d never lost control like that because of a kiss, never staggered and melted like she had under Jon’s lips.  It was unlike anything she’d ever experienced and it was just a kiss on the lips, no tongue even.

            When dawn broke, she started the coffeepot and prepped the teapot for some English Breakfast, then scurried upstairs to her bathroom.  The good news was, she wouldn’t be redoing the deck today.  The bad news was, she had a whole lot of other things to do instead.  She showered, did her makeup, dressed in a blue v-neck t-shirt and jean shorts, then took her time carefully doing her braids and winding them into an updo on the back of her head.  Ready to take on the world, she nudged the dogs out of bed and let them out into the backyard.  While she prepared her tea, she watched the dogs through the window and took in the early morning sunlight.  It would be another warm day, but that was fine.  It was late August and in Winterfell, that meant that any warm day could be the last before September hit like a ton of bricks.  She needed to get that deck done this week.  The winter weather would easily turn a rotting deck into a dangerous expanse of shattered boards and splinters. 

            The sound of Sam fussing and movement from Gilly’s room prompted her to action, mixing pancake batter and dough for scones.  Partway through the process, she let the dogs back in and Rhaegal and Viserion danced around her in the kitchen while she cooked.  Drogon found his favorite spot perched like a king on the armchair and watched the proceedings from the comfort of the living room.  When Gilly and Sam appeared in the kitchen, looking tired and still nervous, the first batch of blackberry scones was in the oven and Dany was flipping the first batch of pancakes onto a plate.  She slid the plate across the counter to rest in front of the barstool Gilly had sat at last night, then set out the butter and syrup.  “Good morning,” she said in her best welcoming voice.

            Gilly swallowed hard and smiled just a little.  “Good morning.  Thank you for breakfast.”

            “Of course.  That’s one of the perks of living here.”  She smiled and hurried to the laundry room, where she found the booster seat.  “Here’s this.  Do you want another plate for Sam?”

            Gilly accepted the booster seat and shook her head.  “No, no, this is great.  Thank you.”

            “No problem.”  She returned to the hot pan and poured more pancake batter onto it, then took a sip of her tea.  The caffeine was doing its job, but she’d need to keep it up to keep going through the day.

            Missandei appeared in her jammies and slippers a few minutes later and Dany slid a plate of pancakes in her direction too.  She looked haggard with dark circles under her red-rimmed eyes and her scars were showing through what was left of her makeup.  “Thanks,” she said softly.  “Do I smell scones?”

            Dany smiled.  “They’ll be done in about two minutes.”

            Missandei moaned softly and said to Gilly, “She makes the best scones in the world.”  Gilly gave the first real smile Dany had seen from her and she couldn’t help smiling too.

            Dany ate with Missandei, Gilly and Sam, laughing along with the girls as Sam made a syrupy mess of himself.  When she was finished with her breakfast, blackberry scone and all, she excused herself and retreated to the attic to call Sansa far from Gilly’s hearing.

            Though it was still early, Sansa picked up on the second ring.  “Hey, what’s up?”

            “I got a new housemate last night,” Dany said.  “She’s pressing charges against the abuser, her father, but the sisters probably won’t be any help.”

            Sansa sighed.  “Did you run a background on the father?”

            “Squeaky clean.  She’s pressing charges for attempted murder, assault, threatening to kill, and threatening a child.”

            She heard Sansa hiss on the other end of the line, then she asked, “There’s a kid involved?”

            “A two-year-old.  As far as I know, he hasn’t been physically abused.  Gilly brought him with her.”

            Sansa sighed.  “Let me do some digging.  I might be able to find some more history that doesn’t show up on CCAP.  I’ll give you a call later.”

            “Sounds good.  The girl’s name is Gilly Craster.  Thank you, Sansa.”

            “Any time.”

            As she hung up, she found herself remembering the first time the doorbell rang in the middle of the night, when it was Sansa standing on her front porch with the police chief’s arm around her shoulders.  Jamie Lannister had nudged Sansa forward as Dany greeted her, then explained, “She’s been through a lot.  I’ve got the husband in lockup, but you’re going to want to find yourself a lawyer.”

            It had taken weeks of extensive emotional support and the help of a therapist, but eventually Sansa found the lawyer that had been hiding under her scarred skin and represented herself against Ramsay Bolton for the divorce and criminal trial.  By the end, Sansa owned everything Ramsay had and he was sitting in prison in King’s Landing with a life sentence.  When Sansa returned to practicing law, she promised Dany that any girl who walked through the red door would have free representation from her.

            Dany slipped her phone back into her pocket, grabbed a notepad and pen, then slipped back down the stairwell to the kitchen.  By now, a half-asleep Irri was oozing in one of the barstools, stirring creamer with a bit of coffee in it using a scone.  “Why do you all get up so early?” she moaned.

            “Why do you get up so late?” Dany returned with a wink.  She fired up the pancake pan again for Irri and passed the notepad and pen to Gilly.  “There are basic toiletries in all the bathrooms and was do have some clothes in the laundry room that were donated you’re welcome to have your pick of, but why don’t you make a list of anything else you need to be comfortable here?  I’m making a Walmart run today.”

            Gilly nodded stiffly.  “Okay.  Would this be…?”

            “On the House,” Dany finished with a nod.  “We’re a nonprofit and we get donations from Winterfell residents and businesses to keep us going throughout the year.  The Stark family alone gives five-grand every Christmas.  Whatever you need…diapers, toiletries, changes of clothes, food for Sam, etcetera.”

            “Okay,” Gilly said softly.  “Thank you.”

            “Absolutely.”  Dany flipped Irri’s pancakes onto a plate and slid them over to her.  Irri scowled at the extra tall stack and Dany pointed to it imperiously.  “You hardly ate yesterday because of your hangover.  Time to make up some calories.”

            Irri stuck her tongue out at her, but doused the pancakes in syrup and dug in.

            When Gilly was done with her list, Dany checked the pantry and fridge, then added the necessary groceries to it.  Irri requested shampoo and conditioner in her favorite brand and Missandei requested hairspray, adding, “This damn humidity make me look like I stuck my finger in an electrical outlet.”

            With her list ready, Dany gave Gilly a keychain with the number four hanging from it and a tiny Post-It with the security code.  “Please don’t take the code out of the house.  Memorize it and give it back to me.”  Gilly nodded seriously.

            Dany hurried through Walmart as quickly as she could, not knowing when Jon would show up at the house but hoping, since he worked night shift, that it would be close to lunch time and not while she was running errands.  It was as she was unpacking the groceries, Gilly again thanking her profusely for her two bags of stuff, that she heard the knock on the red door.

            Drogon led the charge to the front door, barking loud enough to make her wince and howling like a wolf.  Rhaegal and Viserion were close behind in speed and volume.  Dany sighed and went to the door, opening it partway so she could see Jon before she keyed in the security code.  He was wearing a tight black t-shirt and jeans, his curly black hair still wet from the shower and loose around his head.  He smiled at her as she opened the door and released her monsters.  Drogon cheerfully leapt up and knocked Jon right to the ground with both paws on his chest and Dany snapped, “Drogon!  Off!”

            She could see the laughter in Jon’s eyes as he stood, but he forced a straight face and pointed a finger at Drogon.  “No.  You sit.”

            Drogon whined once, but seeing no sign of Jon relenting, he sat, his tail still wagging hard enough to slap Viserion’s ankles with a soft crack.  Jon crouched down slightly and held out his arms, hugging and petting the dogs as they circled around him, rooing and whining.  Dany rolled her eyes at the display.  “I’ll have you know that you’re their favorite.  Usually, they only do this for me.”

            Jon grinned and asked Rhaegal, “Is that true?  I’m your favorite?”  Rhaegal responded by licking Jon’s face, sending him into a fit of laughter.

            Dany shook her head, smiling so hard her cheeks ached.  She held the door open and said, “Come on in.  I’m just putting away groceries.”

            Jon straightened, eyes bright with interest.  “I don’t suppose those groceries include avocados?  You make an awesome guacamole.”

            Dany snorted in laughter.  “No avocados, but I did make scones this morning and there are still a few left.”

            “Ooh, nice.”  Jon slipped past her and she got a whiff of soap and pine, leaving her in a cloud of fresh-smelling fogginess.  For a moment, she could swear she felt that kiss on her lips again and when she managed to shake off the fog, it was to mentally kick herself and blush hot red as she shut the door and armed the security system. 

            She must have still been blushing as she followed Jon and the dogs to the kitchen because Irri raised an eyebrow at her, shampoo and conditioner in hand.  She shook her head, begging the flush to fade and Irri to not mention it.  Thankfully, Irri turned to Jon instead.  “Are you here to work with the dogs again?  I heard you were training them yesterday.”

            Dany took the opportunity to slip past Jon and grab the plate of scones to set in front of him.  “Help yourself.”

            “Thanks,” Jon said warmly, selecting a scone.  “Yeah, I told Dany I’d work with them a bit.  Hopefully they won’t be barking at squirrels or knocking people down much longer.”

            Irri nodded in approval.  “That’ll be the day.”

            Dany narrowed her eyes at her.  The dogs weren’t that bad, were they?  She certainly didn’t think so.  She was back to unpacking the groceries when Jon groaned and said, “Oh my gods.  I’m usually not a scone guy, but holy shit, Danaerys.  What’s in these?”

            Her chest expanded and warmed and she turned to him with a shy smile.  “Blackberries…flour…butter…”

            He smiled crookedly at her and her knees wobbled a bit.  “And a secret ingredient.”

            She shrugged.  “Maybe.”

            Jon’s smile widened and he finished his scone quietly.  Irri made her way towards the staircase, mouthing two words to Dany as she went that resembled “scone sex.”  Dany glared at her and rolled her eyes when she’d gone.

            Jon turned his head back and forth, listening for life in the house, then leaned against the counter to face Dany, his expression sad and serious.  “I was thinking about you last night.”

            She’d been thinking abut him too, specifically about that damn kiss.  “Oh really?”

            He nodded.  “I was wondering if you slept at all after I left.  Doesn’t look like it.”

            She sighed, shutting the stocked fridge.  “No.  I never do on intake nights.  There are background checks to run, nightmares to chase off…last night I even had a diaper to change.”

            Jon folded his arms across his chest.  The movement flexed his arm muscles in a way that was impossible not to notice.  “You work too hard.  Taking care of the house, watching the girls twenty-four-seven, working with Sansa on court cases.  How many do you have going right now?”

            “Just two.  Missandei and Gilly.”  She folded her arms shyly and looked away out the window.  “It’s a small operation and I like it that way, so I wouldn’t take on any employees or volunteers.  I like being busy.”

            His brow creased.  “You look like hell, Daenerys.”

            “Thanks,” she said dryly.

            He sighed and unfolded his arms.  “I just don’t want to see you burn out.”

            Her eyes pricked with tears at the thought of what it had been like when she wasn’t busy with the demands of the House.  Of course she was stressed now, but a little stress beat the depression and memories any day.  She blinked the tears back and met Jon’s eyes with her teeth gritted.  “See that’s the thing.  Being busy keeps me from burning out.  I need to be needed.”

            His brow creased with sadness and he waited a moment, as if hoping that she’d tell him why she needed to be needed, but that wasn’t going to happen right then, if ever.  Finally, he sighed in defeat.  “Okay.  But if you need someone to talk to, I’m here.”

            “Thanks, Jon.”

            As they worked with the dogs together on leash training and on greeting at the door, she kept thinking over and over, _What if I did tell him?  Would he listen?  Or would he walk away?_

            But she didn’t know the answers to those questions and she didn’t take those kinds of risks anymore.  Not after her father.  Not after Daario.  She’d learned the hard way not to show your cards.

            Not even if they were eating you up inside.


	4. Off-Limits

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who were looking for more Jon, this chapter is entirely in his POV. It should clear some things up. Dany's POV will be back in the next chapter. :)
> 
> Thank you to Soon_Chan for the wise words on trust that inspired parts of this chapter! <3

            Every time he caught a glimpse of one of Daenerys’s housemates, the female in question had a brow raised or was smirking.  They all thought he was making an ass of himself and he agreed with them.

            All day as they trained with the dogs, as he sat across the counter from her eating lunch and wondering why she wouldn’t just sit down and relax, as they trained the dogs some more and then as Dany started marking up her lumber to cut half of it to length tomorrow, all day he was staring at her.  It was pretty amazing that she didn’t notice and cuff him for it like she’d been ready to cuff Robert Baratheon yesterday.  A few times he caught her blushing and averting her gaze, so maybe she missed his stares because she was trying not to look at him.

            He hoped like hell that he wasn’t making her uncomfortable.  And that she didn’t regret that stupid kiss.

            Even as he’d done it, he’d known there would be consequences.  Dany wore her skin like armor and her eyes were like a violet wall, giving nothing away.  A girl so aggressively guarded would not handle the fallout of an unplanned kiss very well.

            He just couldn’t help it, though.  Even now as she was sitting on the steps of the deck marking a board with her pencil, he was seeing her the way she’d looked last night.  Fierce and beautiful, like an avenging angel.  Her hair had been loose in curls to her waist, hair he wanted to run his fingers through.  The little tank top she’d been wearing had left absolutely nothing to the imagination, which eventually left him sitting in the squadcar with a boner and no chance to do anything about it until he got home.  And the way she’d looked holding that gun?  She had been scary as fuck in a way that was hot as fuck.  He desperately wanted to take her to a shooting range so he could watch her go through a magazine or two.  The thought alone made him hard.

            And now she was carefully put together, her hair tied up in a mind-blowingly intricate braid that he couldn’t stop studying.  And those shorts?  Her skin was bone white and smooth, her legs perfectly shaped for curling around his hips, her heels digging into his back….

            He snapped out of it and tried to focus on Drogon, who was looking at him like he could read his mind and didn’t appreciate what he found there.  The dog could easily kill someone and Jon expected that he would if that someone was an intruder pointing a knife or a gun at Daenerys.  If that happened, Jon would give this dog a medal.  Dany’s nervousness at introducing him to the dogs said a lot about how others had reacted to them, but Jon had worked with pits before and they were sweet dogs.  Their fault was their unconditional loyalty.  If Daenerys told Drogon to rip Jon’s throat out, he would without question. 

            He loved that she had pits.  He loved the love they gave her when she clearly needed it and he loved that he didn’t have to worry about her making enemies of rotten men.  Anyone who broke into that house would very quickly regret it.

            There was no hope for it.  His focus was in the toilet and he couldn’t train these dogs with anything less than total focus.  Jon sat down on the step beside Dany and watched her.  “So, when is this deck happening?”

            “Why?  Want to help?” Dany asked with a sarcastic smile.  He did want to help.  He’d be happy to rebuild the whole damn deck himself while she sat in a chair and sunbathed if that would make her happy.  “I want to get it done this week.  You just never know when the cold is going to hit here and I’m worried that if I don’t do it fast enough the winter weather will destroy what’s left of it.”

            Jon frowned, picturing his work schedule in his head.  He still hadn’t quite gotten the hang of the floating shifts.  “I’m working the early shift tomorrow.  If you want I can be here around two to get going on it.”

            Dany froze, pencil in hand and looked to him with wide, amethyst eyes.  “Really?”

            He shrugged.  “Yeah, why not.  Ghost and I have nothing better to do.”

            A small smile broke across her face.  “You’d bring Ghost?”

            “If that’s okay with you.”

            “That sounds great.  Maybe he’ll be a good influence on my monsters.”

            Jon chuckled, his chest filling with warmth at the way she’d lit up.  Most people he met got nervous at the idea of a K-9, thinking they were so serious and scary all the time.  Daenerys understood that Ghost was different off-duty, though, and Jon loved that she already thought so highly of him after only one meeting.  “They’re not monsters.  Just a little misunderstood.”

            That thawed Dany right out.  She gave him a smile like the sun and he felt the warmth of it from his head to his toes.  He had to say something about the kiss.  If he had to lay in bed tonight with nothing to do but think, he had to say something or it would kill him.  “Daenerys….  You’re not…upset about last night, are you?  I mean…the kiss?”

            For just a moment, she flushed red and her mouth was open like she wanted to say something, but then right before his eyes she shut down, sealing herself inside her bomb shelter of emotional armor.  “No.  I’m not upset.”

            Well, that was a relief.  “Good.  Today you just seem…I don’t know.  Nervous, I guess.”

            Dany shut her eyes for a moment.  When she opened them, it was to look down at her hands.  “I guess…I am.  You surprised me.  In a good way.  But I just…Jon, I haven’t been in a relationship in two years.  I’ve only ever been with two guys and one of them hurt me pretty bad because I trusted him with things I shouldn’t have told him.  I like you and I want to trust you, but…I just don’t want to get hurt again and I don’t want you to get hurt either.”

            He shut his eyes, feeling an iron fist clench his heart.  This was the direction conversations took right before the girl crushed your soul, he knew that firsthand.  “Dany,” he said softly, the name feeling like a prayer on his tongue.  He opened his eyes to find hers moist with tears.  “I would _never_ hurt you.  I need you to know that, wherever this goes.  And there’s nothing you can do to hurt me.”  That last bit was a lie.  If she said ‘fuck you’ and walked away right then it would feel like a knife in his heart.

            She smiled sadly and shook her head just barely.  “You don’t know that.  But I’m not saying ‘no,’ Jon.  I’m saying I’m scared.”

            The relief felt like a wave crashing over him.  He reached out and took her hand in his.  It was so dainty and yet so warm, liked she’d soaked up all the sun’s heat.  “That’s okay.  Let’s just see where this goes, alright?”

            For a heart-rending moment, he thought she’d say ‘no.’  But then, she nodded and squeezed his hand.

 

\------------------

 

            It was while he was driving down Dany’s street away from the House with the Red Door that he called Sam.  “Hey Sam?  What are you doing tonight?”

            There was a rustling.  Knowing Sam, it was him shoving papers and books aside on his desk.  He was always doing research projects from home for the college library.  “Sounds like I’m hanging out with you.”

            Jon snorted.  “Glad to hear.  Want to meet me at Wildlings’?”

            Sam groaned.  “Jon…you know Tormund scares the piss out of me.”

            “Come on…it’ll be fine.  I’ll watch your back.  And I’ll buy.”

            “Ugh.  Fine.”

            They were each halfway through a pint of Guinness when Sam nudged Jon with his elbow and asked quietly, “So, what is it that you’re brooding about?”

            Jon blinked, realizing that it had been several minutes since either of them spoke.  He shook his head to clear it and took a sip of beer.  “Daenerys.”

            Sam’s eyebrows shot up.  “Daenerys as in Daenerys Targaryen that you fell in love with in US History class?”

            Jon gave him a wry look.  “I expect there’s only one Daenerys in these parts.”

            “Well?  You’ve seen her somewhere in town?  Talked to her?”

            He shrugged his shoulders stiffly.  “Something like that.  I pulled her over.”

            “You pulled her…” Sam choked on a laugh and struggled to disguise it as a cough.  “Okay, so you pulled her over.”

            Jon glared at him and drank more beer.  Normally, he didn’t drink much but tonight it was necessary.  “Yes, I pulled her over for speeding.  She was so flustered and nervous, nothing like she was in school.  I didn’t give her a ticket, obviously.  But then the next night I was here with Arya and Greyworm and she and Sansa were here with two other girls.  Of course, Sansa waves me over and suckers me into dancing with Dany.”

            Sam patted Jon’s shoulder.  “There, there, you poor thing.”

            “I’m only telling you this because you’re my best friend and I need advice.  Don’t push it.”

            Sam snorted and turned his attention to his beer.  “Go on, then.”

            “So, I take her out to the dance floor and she’s nervous as hell and keeps scoping out the bar like she’s worried someone will see her.  I want her to relax, so I start dancing and get her to smile and join in.”  In a moment, he was back there, his hands on her hips, watching her sway back and forth, her blond curls moving with the beat, her body turning fluid and pliable.  She’d smelled like chai, like a blend of warm, eastern spices and vanilla.  And the way her body had felt backed up against his?  Like fucking magic.  He couldn’t stop thinking about that, but he wasn’t about to tell Sam that, at least not where Tormund might hear.  “Anyway, so we’re dancing and we talk about how Sansa is always teasing like she does and that leads into her saying something about being scared of her brother.”

            Sam’s face scrunched up.  “Her brother?  Rhaegar died in that car accident.”

            “No, Viserys.  The middle one, he must be a year or two older than us.  Rat face, ego the size of a dragon…”

            “Ooh…that brother.”

            Jon nodded.  “I remember him being kind of a douche.  She says she never brought guys home because she was scared of what he would do.  Apparently, he could be possessive, in her words.”

            Sam’s face scrunched up again.  “That is creepy.”

            “Yeah.  So, then I run into her again at the hardware store yesterday and when I see her, that creep Robert Baratheon is hitting on her and she looks ready to just deck him.  That guy has a rap sheet a mile long, by the way.  So, I put a hand on her back to try and calm her down and shake him off and sure enough, he starts minding his own business.  She was shaken up, though.”

            “Over Robert being a creep?  He’s always been a creep.”

            “She was so tense it was like she was made of stone.  Anyway, so we start talking and she’s got these pitbulls that are a little overzealous…”

            Sam shut his eyes and sighed.  “Of course, there’s a dog.”

            “Three dogs.  Big, muscly things with some serious lungs on them.  So, I meet them and offer to train them a bit for her.  It was like it was the nicest thing anybody’d said to her.”

            Sam shook his head slowly.  “So now you’re training her dogs for free.  At her house, I assume?”

            “That’s where it gets weirder.  She runs the House with the Red Door, the domestic abuse shelter.”

            Sam’s eyes popped.  “Daenerys Targaryen runs a shelter?  I thought she was going to be a lawyer or something?”

            Jon shrugged.  “I asked her about Essos, but she just said it was time to come home.  Oh, and at one point she was married to a bodybuilder, but she didn’t tell me what happened with that.”

            “A bodybuilder?  And Viserys Targaryen?  Dude, she’s off-limits.”

            Jon sighed and took a long sip of Guinness.  That had been his conclusion at a few points in the last few days, but he just couldn’t get her out of his head.  And then the way she’d looked last night, how tough and capable and kind she was, he’d fallen for her again so hard he couldn’t look away from her.  Even now, when he’d just spent most of the day with her, he felt twitchy, wondering what she was up to, wishing he was there with her.  “Last night, I got a domestic disturbance call and had to run this abused girl and her baby over to the House with the Red Door.  The dogs about tear down the door and she answers the door looking sexy as fuck and pointing a Kimber 1911 at my face.”

            Sam squinted.  “What is a Kimber…”

            “1911.  It’s a nice handgun.”

            “Okay.  Why do I get the feeling that I’m going to wish this story ended with her shooting you?”

            He polished off his Guinness and peered into what was left of the head as he said, “Because the story ends with me kissing her.  While I’m on duty.”

            Sam looked at him sideways like he was an idiot.  He felt like an idiot.  “You do realize how badly she could’ve sued you, right?”

            Tormund stalked down to their end of the bar and grabbed Jon’s glass.  “Who could’ve sued you?  Sounds like I’m missing a good story.”

            Jon gave him a withering look.  “The important thing is she didn’t sue me.  In fact, we’re going to attempt a relationship.”

            “What?” Sam asked with wide eyes.  “Don’t you have enough on your plate right now?  I mean…how are you going to add a girl with serious baggage onto that?”

            “Baggage?” Tormund asked, startling Sam with his booming voice.  “Like daddy issues, good in bed kind of baggage?”

            Jon narrowed his eyes and accepted a fresh beer while Sam answered, “Like her ex-husband is a bodybuilder baggage.”

            Tormund grimaced and shook his head at Jon.  “Big mistake.  Huge mistake.”

            Jon tipped his head and clenched his jaw.  “I was a Ranger, I think I could take this guy.”

            Sam held up both hands to emphasize, “Bodybuilder.  Need I spell it out?  He’s got to be a foot taller than you.”

            “Yeah, and he’s been out of the picture for two years, since she was in Essos.  In any case, I don’t think that’s all she’s got in her head and she doesn’t want to talk about whatever it is that happened.”

            “To be fair to her, it’s only been a few days that you’ve been hanging around her,” Sam said.  “Have you told her about Iraq?”

            “No.”

            “Then how can you expect her to trust you with what she’s worried about?”

            Tormund pointed to Sam.  “He’s got a point there.”

            “You don’t even know what happened in Iraq,” Jon growled at Tormund.

            He shrugged.  “You’re not trying to fuck me, though.  Women love that wounded warrior shit.  Offer to show her your scars.”

            Jon shook his head.  “You’re being stupid.”

            “If you want to sit at my bar and bitch about your love life, you’re going to get stupid advice.  Drink that beer.  It’ll help.”

            As Tormund retreated to the other end of the bar again, Sam rolled his eyes.  “He is stupid, but he’s not that far off-base, Jon.  If you really want to know what’s going on with her, you need to give her something first.  And if you’re not willing to trust her, why should she trust you?  If it’s too soon for you to tell her about Iraq, then don’t expect her to tell you her stuff.”

            Even here in Wildlings’ over the din of the jukebox and the group of guys watching baseball at the other end of the bar, even here he could still smell the gunpowder, could still hear the gunshots and the cries of pain, could still feel the burning in his chest.  “It’s always there like background noise in my head and when I let it come to the forefront, it’s like all those wounds open right up.”

            “Do you think she feels any differently?” Sam asked.  “Jon, women don’t just abandon law school to open an abuse shelter because it’d be fun.  She’s doing this for a reason.”

            “She said she needs to be needed,” Jon said, frowning deeply.  “What the hell does that mean?”

            Sam shrugged.  “A lot of women are like that, I think.  They have this need to heal people.”

            “I think it’s more than that.”

            “Jon, I am not an expert with women.  Obviously.”  Sam gestured to himself.  He was wearing a sweater vest that accentuated his girth and no wedding band.  “I’ve only ever been with one girl.”

            Jon winced.  That one girl had been Gilly, Gilly who now looked like a porcelain shell of the girl she was when she was with Sam, Gilly who desperately needed someone to help her and someone to help take care of little Sam, Gilly who’d named her son after his best friend.  He knew that if he told Sam what he knew, Sam would go running to the House with the Red Door and insist on seeing Gilly and Sam and from there insist on rescuing them and caring for them.  But Gilly’s living situation was strictly confidential and Jon knew there had to be a reason she had never told Sam about the baby.  “Maybe I’ll talk to her tomorrow when I’m working on her deck.”

            “You’re working on…gods, Jon.”

            Jon blushed and sipped his beer carefully.  “Yeah, I’m fucked.”

            “You’re so fucked it’s not even funny.”

           

\------------------

 

            Sometime before Jon got to the House with the Red Door on Monday, Daenerys had unscrewed every deck board and had started a small pile destined for the dump in the back of her truck.  He and Ghost slipped through the gate to the backyard, which was open for once, and scared Rhaegal so bad he jumped from his spot on the sunny grass a good two feet in the air.  Daenerys had spun around so fast her braid whipped from one shoulder to the other and Drogon and Viserion came tearing across the yard to back up their brother.  At the display, Ghost sat politely by Jon’s side and looked up at him with his tongue lolling.  “Go play!” Jon said.  Needing no further encouragement, Ghost leapt into action, dancing around the pits and bowing playfully over and over.  For a tense moment, Jon wasn’t sure how Drogon would react, but then all four dogs were chasing each other around the tiny yard, barking, rooing, and leaping through the air.  Ghost’s tail was wagging so hard Jon saw chunks of white fur flying from it.  _A little less hair for me to vacuum off the couch later._

            He made for the deck, where Daenerys was still watching the dogs play, a soft smile on her face.  She was sunburnt and sweating, her black tank-top sticking to her, and he had a sudden desire to drag her into a shower when they were done with this, to scrub and massage her body, to follow streams of water over her skin with his hands and mouth, to feel her so slippery around him as he took her against the shower wall. 

            Daenerys faced him and the very vivid image in his head made him trip right over his tongue.  After an awkward moment, Dany said, “They seem to get along well.”

            “Yeah,” he forced himself to say, struggling to think of anything besides the way her muscles would clench around his cock, anything besides the sounds she might utter.  “Yeah, Ghost doesn’t do play dates very often.  I’ll have to bring him over more.”

            “You should.”

            Her thighs clenching around his hips as he held her up against the slick wall….  Jon forced himself to look at the partially-dismantled deck.  “You’ve made progress.”

            “Yeah.”  She bent and gathered up a few boards, then began hauling them to her truck.  She was stronger than she looked.  “I figured I only have one drill, so I should get the screws out right away, and then I was done with that, so I figured I’d started hauling boards.”

            “Cool.  Well, save some for me.”

            They hauled the old deckboards to the truck, then started laying the new boards.  Daenerys was operating the saw, which had terrified Jon at first until he saw the unflinching precision with which she worked.  The woman was as comfortable with power tools as she’d been with that Kimber.

            They’d just gotten enough boards laid to stand on when Sansa appeared with a lawn chair and a case of beer.  The dogs circled her, whining frantically, but she just powered through, setting up her lawn chair just out of the way of the workspace and cracking two beers that she offered to Dany and Jon.  “I was told beer would be appreciated on deck day.”

            Daenerys laughed and accepted the beer gratefully.  “Thanks, Sansa.”

            As Jon accepted his beer, Sansa turned an imposing glare on Daenerys.  “When was the last time you sat, lady?  You’re dripping sweet and sunburnt as all hell.”

            Daenerys looked down at herself in mild embarrassment and shrugged.  “I guess I don’t know.  I was working.”

            Sansa pointed at the lawn chair.  “Then that’s your spot for at least ten minutes.”

            Dany stuck out her bottom lip petulantly, a look that he would never be able to say ‘no’ to.  Sansa was unmoved and Dany finally gave up and retired to the chair, beer in hand, needy dogs on her heels.  Sansa stepped closer to Jon, blue eyes wide, and said, “She told me you were training the dogs, but now you’re doing the deck too?”

            Jon shrugged.  “I don’t mind.”

            “You’re too damn nice.”

            A corner of his mouth turned up and he said softly, “I seem to recall you saying something about her needing a nice guy.”

            Sansa sighed.  “Have it your way.  She’s an amazing woman and you’d be good for her, but as your sister I warn you, she has demons.  Demons she won’t even tell me about.  You’ve been through enough.”

            Jon’s jaw hardened protectively.  “So has she.  I just want to help her and maybe she can help me too.”

            By Sansa’s watch, it was six minutes later that Dany returned to working on the deck with Jon.  Missandei, Irri, Gilly, and Little Sam at some point joined Sansa on lawn chairs in the backyard, talking together over beers and iced teas.  When the hot sun began to drop behind the trees, turning the sky to a smoldering orange, Jon sat on the edge of the half-a-deck and watched it.  After a few minutes, Dany joined him, her tennis shoes just barely touching the ground below.  Jon had taken his shirt off a few hours back and now with the sun not so hot in the sky, he pulled it back on.  He could feel Dany’s eyes and him and, softly, she asked, “Are the scars from Iraq?”

            Jon swallowed hard.  He’d almost left his shirt on because of the scars, feeling self-conscious and a little vulnerable about them, but then he’d remembered his conversation with Sam and Tormund the day prior.  If she was afraid to trust him, maybe he needed to trust her a little first.  “Yeah.  From our last mission there.  I took six stab wounds and Ghost took two bullets.”

            In his peripheral vision he could see Dany’s eyes widen, but he didn’t meet them.  “You took _six_ stab wounds to the chest and lived.”

            “It was pretty close.”

            He could feel her eyes boring into him, but she didn’t ask the question that was gnawing at her.  _What happened?_   Finally, he sighed and said, “There was this local guy, Suhail.  He promised us information if we could get his family out, so that’s what we did.  He offered to lead us to a guy that was doing recruiting for the insurgents.  We thought if we could slow down the recruitment process, and maybe if we could get this guy to give up someone else higher up on the foodchain, well, that would make a difference.”

            “What happened?”

            Jon sighed and let his head drop into his hands.  “The whole operation went to shit.  Ghost didn’t like Suhail from the beginning, but I didn’t want to listen.  None of us did.  Sure enough, we get to where we’re supposed to apprehend this guy and instead there’s a whole squad of insurgents waiting for us.”  Jon took a breath that rattled in his chest, feeling the sand in his throat and lungs again.  “Those guys over there hate dogs and handlers are even worse.  Suhail came at me with this knife, I have no idea where he got it from, and he just started pounding it into my chest, right through my vest, over and over.  Ghost leapt at him, tore his throat right out, and then the shooting started.  I hit the dirt, blood everywhere, and Ghost took two shots that were meant for me.  He’s fast and he knows his shit, so he bolted and got away.  All I was thinking was, I hope Ghost ran.  Most dogs will stay with you and get themselves killed, but Ghost ran.”  Dany frowned deeply and Jon’s chest began to feel like he had a truck on top of him, crushing him.  “They killed my team.  Then they dragged me away.”

            “Jon…” she breathed. 

When he spoke again, his voice was so rough it sounded like his throat was full of sand.  He was back in Iraq, back in that street, back in that damn compound with those bastards.  His ribs were collapsing inward and cracking in his chest.  “They tortured me.  Rubbed salt into my wounds.  Waterboarded me.  I was in this box they had full of ice-water with just enough air that I couldn’t quite die when I heard the explosions and the gunshots.  Ghost made it back to B team and tracked me to the compound.  I thought they’d kill me in that fucking box, but soon enough I hear Ghost’s toenails clawing at the side of it and him whining his fool head off.”

            Dany found the strength to take a breath, then asked quietly, “Ghost fled the ambush, found a team, and led a raid on the compound you were in?”

            Jon nodded, seeing only Ghost’s face as B team pried open the lid of that box and hauled him out of it, Ghost licking his face and his wounds as he lay curled up in the dirt.  “I’d still be in that goddamn box if it weren’t for him.  I don’t know how he did it, but B team would’ve never found me without him.”

            “Why did they take you?” she choked out.

            He sighed again, rubbing his temples, behind which a headache was beginning to build.  “Because I was Ghost’s handler.  Army dogs find bombs, they chase down running bad guys, they intimidate.  Ghost was one of the best and he was immediately recognizable.  There aren’t a lot of Swiss Shepherds in Iraq.”

            “So, they wanted you and Ghost out of commission.”

            Jon nodded stiffly.  “It worked too.  He and I got sent home for medical treatment and rehab.  By the time we were patched up again and physically ready for another tour, I was on half a dozen medications and still hardly sleeping.  When I shut off the lights, I found myself right back in that box again, right where I’d be if Ghost had done things differently.”

            Daenerys suddenly gripped his arm.  “But he didn’t.  He got a team and he saved you.  And neither of you are ever going back there again.”

            “Yeah,” he said softly, forcing himself to look at her hand on him, to feel something real.  “But it’s hard to remember that when I’m trying to fall asleep, or when I’m dreaming.”

            There was a heavy moment, then Dany said, “I suppose I have a similar problem.”

            He stiffened.  “You don’t sleep either?”

            “Only a few hours a night.  Every couple days, I have these awful nightmares that wake me up.  Usually a few drinks help, but not always, and that’s not exactly a healthy fix.”

            He laid a hand on hers and whispered, “Sometimes Ghost lays across my chest and then I can’t feel the salt in my wounds or the blade punching through me.  Between that and leaving the windows uncovered so there’s still moonlight in the room, sometimes I can sleep.”

            He hadn’t meant to tell her that.  It was so personal and so sad.  But Dany just said, “I sleep with one dog on either side of me and Drogon at the foot of the bed guarding us.”

            “Yeah?”

            Dany nodded.  “When they were really little, Drogon had a spot against my belly.  But they got bigger and grew up and at some point, he decided to sleep at my feet instead.  He’s always the first awake if there’s a sound in the house.”  What was she so afraid of that even her dogs were afraid to sleep?  He wanted to kill whoever had scared this woman so badly.  Daenerys swallowed hard as if steeling herself, then whispered, “Come inside with me.”

            He made an effort not to look at the women or the dogs, terrified that any eye contact would break the bubble around him and Dany.  Slowly, he rose to his feet and followed her into the house.  As soon as they were through the back door, he watched Daenerys put in the security code and arm the system again.  “Do you ever leave it disarmed?  Even to let the dogs out?”

            She shook her head.  “No.  I need to know that no one has snuck in through the other door while the system was down.”

            She made to move away into the kitchen, but he caught he with both hands on her hips and moved in close enough that he could whisper in her ear, “What are you so afraid of?”

            When Daenerys met his eyes, hers were sparkling with unshed tears.  She bit her lip, then answered in a quivering voice.  “I’m afraid of failing them.  I’m afraid that because I wasn’t careful enough or strong enough, they could get hurt by their ghosts or mine.  Missandei’s ex-boyfriend is a controlling drunk who smashed her face with a bottle.  Irri’s ex-girlfriend would scream and throw knives at her if she so much as talked to someone on the phone without telling her.  And if Viserys knew I was here…” she choked on the words, then forced them out, “…he’d throw any of those girls right down that spiral staircase to get to me.”

            “You’re not going to fail them,” Jon said firmly.  “You’re an intelligent, strong woman and you know your shit.  The work you do here is amazing and you’re amazing at doing it.  You’re not going to fail.”

            For a long moment, she just stared up at him.  Then, she stood up on her toes and kissed him, her lips warm and soft and salty on his.  He staggered for a moment in surprise before she wrapped her arms around him, pressing herself against his chest.  Gods, it felt good to have her body against his, to have her arms around him.  He tasted her lower lip with his tongue and she shuddered, then let him in, their tongues dancing together slowly.  Her fingers dug into his shoulders and he lowered his hands to the backs of her thighs, lifting her easily so her legs wrapped around him and her ass was on the kitchen counter.  She was wearing shorts again and he couldn’t resist stretching his fingers along both her thighs, squeezing them and pinning her hips tight against his.  She moaned softly and her head fell back and he kept kissing her neck, then her upper chest, licking the beads of sweat off her skin.  Gods, her skin tasted good, like spice and salt and warmth.  Her fingers wound into his hair and in a soft, low, painfully sexy voice, she murmured his name, “Jon…”

            His name falling from her tongue like that was enough to send all the blood from his brain, which had been quietly worrying about consequences of this kiss, to his member.  Before he could even think about it, his mouth was on hers again, kissing her hard and fast and moaning her name against her lips, “Dany…”

            One of her hands dug into his shoulder and the other wound into his hair and tugged on it, sending a shot arcing along his nerve endings.  Jon slid his hands up over her hips and up her ribs until his thumbs could trace half-moons under her breasts, breasts he’d been thinking about since Saturday night nonstop.  She moaned again, soft and sweet, and he found himself so hard pressed up against her that his cock ached.  He tightened his hands on her narrow ribcage, holding back with everything he had when what he really wanted was to carry her to the nearest shower and fuck her until there was no Iraq, no Viserys, no House, nothing but the two of them.

            “Are you okay?” she asked in that same low voice.

            He chuckled once, then stroked the side of her face with his fingertips, sliding them into her braids.  Her violet eyes were dark and molten inches from his and he almost fulfilled that daydream and carried her upstairs.  He could see she wanted it.  But his honor reared its ugly head and instead he said, “I’m kissing a girl so amazing I’m already falling for her.  The only thing that could make this better is less clothing but I don’t know if you’re there yet.”

            A bright red flush bloomed on her fair skin and she smiled shyly, then kissed him long and slow on the mouth.  “Well,” she murmured against his lips.  “I wouldn’t say I think kitchen sex is a good idea right now.  But I could use a shower.”

            Fucking hell.

            He helped her down off the counter and kissed her hard, then said, “Lead the way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it was mean to end it there, but I felt that the shower scene deserved its own chapter and should be in Dany's POV. I promise it'll be up by tomorrow night if all goes according to plan and that it'll be worth it. <3


	5. Anything, Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, the smut that was promised! I hope it's worth the wait and I promise not to cut a chapter like that again. :)

            She was shaking as she led him up the stairs, her leg muscles quivering with the effort.  She didn’t know whether it was from working on the deck all day, wanting him so damn bad, or being nervous.

            She hadn’t been with anyone since Daario two years ago, all the way back in Essos, and that hadn’t been like this.  There had been rules about how emotionally close they got and when she broke those rules by crying in front of him and telling him about Drogo and Rhaego, it had been more than he was equipped to handle.  He’d left her apartment in the middle of the night, never to return, while she’d knelt on the spot where Drogo’s body had laid, the spot where she’d lost her son, and cried.

            Jon Snow was completely different.  He had baggage of his own that he’d already shared with her, letting her see inside him to a very dark, vulnerable place she doubted even some of his friends had seen.  He had made an investment in this, in _her_ , and she could see that he wanted her to do the same.

            That was why she’d told him the truth about the stupid security system, why she’d admitted to her fears.  Why she’d told him that Viserys was one of those ghosts who might someday come knocking.  Those horrible, jagged scars he’d let her see and his story about being betrayed and stabbed, about being tortured, all of that had been like a wedge being driven right through the cracks in her armor, turning it to useless metal falling around her.  She could hear him screaming in her head as they rubbed salt into his bleeding wounds, could feel him thrashing and panicking in that box.  It made her heart clench with agony and fear and sadness, made her blood run boiling hot with rage at the monsters that would do such things to him.  All of a sudden, she’d wanted to kiss those scars until the pain went away, to lie in bed with him at night with her body draped across his chest instead of Ghost, to feel him fall asleep peacefully beneath her and to be able to sleep peacefully herself with his arms around her, protecting her.  And when he’d said those sweet words, reassuring her that she would not fail, that she was too strong and intelligent to fail…those were the sweetest words in the world to her fragile soul.

            They reached the attic and she turned and kissed him once hard on the mouth before leading him into the little bathroom she’d had built into the space.  She’d needed her own private space to retreat to for a long, hot bath in order to stay sane.  Jon kicked the door shut behind them and in a moment, she was sitting on the bathroom counter with her legs wrapped around his hips, kissing him frantically as he peeled off his t-shirt, then her tank-top.  His mouth moved to her chest as he undid her bra and her head fell back, lips parted in ecstasy.  “Jon…” she moaned. 

He closed his lips around her nipple and she dug her fingers into his black hair, holding him to her as he sucked and bit and kissed at her breasts.  Dany gasped and moaned, her back arching to press her breasts against his face as he kissed every inch of them.  “Mmm…” he groaned.  “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about these since Saturday night.  Even then, my imagination didn’t do you justice.”  His teeth caught on her nipple and she gasped, twining her fingers into his black curls, clutching him to her.  “Fucking hell,” he groaned, returning his mouth to hers to kiss her harder, faster, his tongue exploring her lips and mouth as he filled his hands with her breasts, his fingers teasing at her and cupping her, massaging her breasts until she felt some of the tension in her spine unwind.  She ran the tip of her tongue all the way around his lips and when his tongue darted out to meet hers, she trapped it between her lips and sucked on it.  When she released him, he growled deep in his throat and proceeded to unbutton her shorts, then yank them right off her hips and down her legs.  When the shorts dropped to the floor, his hands went to her ass, bare on the counter, and he groaned.  “I didn’t know you wore thongs.”

            “You like that?”

            He groaned again and kissed her like he was devouring her.  “If I had a shred less honor, I’d bend you over the counter and enjoy the view while I take you in that little scrap of lace.”

            The crude image should have sent her into a fit of nerves, but instead it made her blood run hotter and her voice breathy.  “I’ll have to catch you sometime when you’re feeling dishonorable, then.”

            He met her eyes and grinned, then kissed her hard again.  “I want you in that shower.”

            “I want you out of those jeans,” she returned.  Jon’s smile turned crooked, a seductive devil, and he took a step back from her to undo his belt and drop his jeans, then his boxer briefs.  His large, dark pink cock stood totally erect surrounded by inky black curls and her mouth went dry with desire.  She could appreciate a man, but she had never wanted a cock so bad in her life.  She wanted it buried inside her folds, she wanted it in her mouth, she wanted it any way her would give it to her.  “Come back here,” she demanded, hardly recognizing her voice.

            He did as she asked, stepping close enough to slide her panties down her legs.  She reached for him, but all she could catch was the sides of his powerful chest as he stood back, his eyes locked on her cunt, swollen and wet.  “Fuck, Daenerys…” he groaned.

            “Come here,” she repeated digging her fingernails into his flesh and stretching out to wrap her legs around his hips.  As he came close, his cock pressing warm and hard against her folds, his mouth on hers again, his hands found her breasts and squeezed and stroked until she moaned.  “Jon…I want…”

            “Anything, love,” he groaned.  “Just say the word.”

            “I want you inside me.”

            He growled low, like a wolf about to devour his prey, and his hands went to her hips to pin her in place.  It had been so long and she needed him so badly that she was already dripping wet.  She felt the tip of his cock at her center and squirmed, needing him in her now.  For a moment, time stood still and it was just his lips just barely brushing hers, just his cock at her entrance, then he was inside her.  It had been years since she’d been stretched that way and at first, the pain was blinding, but she gritted her teeth, marveling at how good he felt inside her, needing him deeper.  She dug her heels into his lower back and pressed him against her harder and he groaned, inching deeper.  “Holy fuck, Dany…”  When he was deep inside her, at the edge of her barren womb, her head fell back, her eyes shut tight and her lips parted in ecstasy.  Then, he pulled free and pushed into her again, and again, and again.

            She came hard and fast, her womb clenching around him and stars bursting across her retinas.  She felt more than heard his name leaving her lips.  Then, gentle kisses were brushing along her jawline, her cheeks, her forehead, her lips.  “Jon…” she mumbled.

            “Gods, Daenerys…” he whispered sweetly, his breath warm on her face.  “I think I’ve died and gone to heaven.”  A slow smile stretched across her face and she laughed once.  “Let’s get you that shower.”

            When he pulled free of her and stepped out of reach, she couldn’t help the whimper that left her.  But he smiled and turned on the shower, saying softly, “I won’t be gone long, love.  How hot do you want it?”

            “All the way up,” she said, admiring his perfect ass.

            “I suppose this is pretty far from the hot water heater,” Jon mused, turning the knob all the way to the left.  Then, he turned back to her, his smile crooked and pleased when she reached out her arms to him.  He let her wrap her arms around his shoulders and snaked his around her waist, holding her warm body against his.  His cock was still rock-hard and she moaned at the feel of it against her.  Jon kissed her forehead, then gently lifted her off the counter and set her feet on the floor.  “Come on, love.  Let me take care of you.”

            Her legs were shaky underneath her, so he helped her into the shower and kept one hand in hers as he followed her in case she slipped.  As the hot water hit him, Jon hissed and scrunched his face up.  “Fucking hell, that’s hot.”

            Dany smirked and slipped around him so the water hit her first.  The water felt like heaven sliding over her skin, washing away the sweat, the dirt, the worry, burning away the memories.  “You’ll get used to it.”

            “Yeah?”  One eyebrow arched upward and he smiled crookedly.  “Am I going to be spending a lot of time in this shower?”

            Dany nodded and pulled his naked body against hers.  He wrapped his arms around her, stroking her back, her hips, her thighs slowly as he bent his head and kissed her.  The kiss was slow and molten this time, drowsy and satisfied and longing for more.  He kissed her mouth, her cheeks, her forehead, her nose.  As he kissed her, he carefully untied her braid and tugged her hair free so the water could fall over it unimpeded.  Then, his lips broke free from hers and he found her shampoo bottle on the rack, pouring some into his hands and then kneading it into her hair, dragging it through the tendrils, massaging her scalp as she moaned and let her eyes fall shut.  When the water rinsed away the shampoo, he did the same with her conditioner.  Then, she opened her eyes and dragged her fingers through his black curls.  “Your turn,” she said softly.

            Jon eyed the shower head warily, but braved the heat and let the water run over his hair and body.  Dany did as he had and massaged the shampoo into his hair, then watched as it washed away in soapy ripples over his chest and shoulders.  Jon grabbed a washcloth and wetted it, then poured a healthy amount of body wash onto it, scrubbing the washcloth to activate the soap.  When he met her gaze again, his eyes had darkened to molten black and he murmured, “Back under the water with you, love.”

            They switched spots again and Dany purred like a cat when she felt the hot water hit her skin.  Then, the warm washcloth slowly rubbed across her shoulders, her collarbones, down and back up her left arm, then her right one.  She moaned as he washed her breasts, his hand flat against her on the other side of the washcloth.  His other hand trailed along her hip and waist, holding her close and steady as she shook on her feet.  When the cloth moved down her torso and Jon crouched down before her, she whimpered.  Very slowly, he slid the washcloth down and then up her leg, then down and back up the other, whispering to her, “Don’t worry, love, I said I’d take care of you.”  A moment later, the cloth moved gently over her mound and down between her folds.  A squeak of surprise and longing left her and then the cloth was gone and it was Jon’s lips pressed so soft against her mound.  One of her hands flailed behind her to find the shower wall and steady herself while the other dug into Jon’s hair, clutching him to her.  He groaned against her skin and moved lower, his tongue flicking over her nub before burying itself between her folds, tracing along the edges of them, kissing at her inner thighs, then tracing her entrance.

            “Jon…” she moaned.

            “I’ve got you, love,” he murmured against her.  In a moment, one of her legs was over his broad shoulder and both of his hands were on her ass, holding her in place against him as he kissed and teased her.  She was shaking from head to toe with need and mumbling curse words under her breath.  Then, he dipped his tongue inside her and she cried out once in ecstasy.  The cry was enough encouragement that he was devouring her, plundering her with his tongue, sucking and nipping at her folds and her clit.  When he dragged his tongue over her, lapping up her juices, and swirled it around her nub, she nearly came again and her fingers dug into his scalp, pinning him there.  He sucked and teased her clit with the tip of his tongue until she came so hard she screamed his name.

            When he stood once more, holding her weak body against his, it was to grab her by the ass and lift her up against him, hitching her legs at his hips and pressing her back against the slick shower wall.  Dany moaned again and kissed him over and over until he slipped his cock inside her, slippery wet with the water and soap.  Her head fell back against the shower wall and she moaned with pleasure at the feel of it stretching her, filling her, sliding easily in and out and in all the way to her womb until she groaned with pleasure and pain.  Jon’s mouth kissed and gently bit at her exposed neck as he rocked in and out of her, pressing her ever tighter against the shower wall so he could get deeper.  Struggling with her weakened limbs, Dany bent her legs up so her knees gripped him at his ribs and her ankles at the small of his back.  As he pushed into her again, Jon growled a “fuck” at the new angle that pulled him in that much deeper and suddenly he was pounding into her hard and fast as she gripped his shoulders with her fingernails, digging into him and pulling him harder against her.  He came with a low growl, stiffening against her as his seed filled her, hot and wet in her womb.  Something inside her stirred at the sensation and she came then, shattering around him, all but crying with pleasure.

            When it was over, he helped her to her feet and cleaned them off again, then shut off the water and wrapped her in one of her large, black towels that she liked to drown herself in.  He dried off so quickly she hardly noticed, then scooped her into his arms like a small child and carried her out of the bathroom to her bed.  She felt the mattress shift beneath her and watched as he laid beside her, naked and gorgeous from his black curls dripping around his face to his powerfully-built arms and chest, to his raw scars, to his hard thighs and perfect, round ass, and his beautiful pink cock, coming down slowly after having her in the shower.  His eyes were grey and molten like a storm cloud as he bent and kissed her once softly on the mouth.  “There’s something you should know…and you don’t have to do anything about it or say anything, I just want to tell you, okay?”  She nodded once, her eyes pricking with the threat of tears at what she thought he might say.  He held her gaze seriously, then whispered in the softest, sweetest voice in the world, “I love you, Daenerys.  I love you and I’m so fucking happy right now it feels like I’m boiling over with it.  I hope you’re happy too and if you’re not, I’d like to do my damnedest to make you happy.”

            The tears swam in her eyes and she had to blink them back as a huge, stupid grin stretched across her face.  “I am happy, Jon.”

            He grinned too and kissed her once more.  “Good.  I’m going to get dressed and go pretend to have a shred of decency left in me.  You take your time finding your sea legs and getting ready.  I’ll tell them you’re in the shower and that we came inside together initially to do some paperwork stuff.  Kay?”

            Dany blinked in surprise, then exhaled in relief.  “Thank you.  I don’t know if they’ll buy it, but thank you.”

            Jon kissed her one more time, then got out of bed and retreated to the bathroom to find his clothes.  Dany curled up in her towel and watched the bathroom door until he returned fully clothed with his hair somewhat dried and in a mess of curls around his face.  He smiled, staring at her, and reached down to grab one bare foot and kiss the top of it.  “See you in a bit, love.”

            As he walked away, her throat seized and she called after him, “Jon!”  He turned to look back at her and she felt a smile cross her face just looking at him.  “You’re amazing, you know.”

            Jon grinned broadly and winked at her.  “Love, this was just the tip of the iceberg.  I plan to make you so fucking happy you never want to leave my side.”

            She smiled and laughed softly, then watched as he left the attic, shutting the door discreetly behind him.

           

\------------------

 

            Jon stayed for dinner, which must have taken some courage.  Given the chance to escape from the knowing gazes of Irri, Missandei, Sansa, and Gilly, she would’ve gladly gone home with Ghost.

            She forced herself to focus on cooking, even making the spaghetti sauce from scratch to give herself something to think about and do at the stove, away from prying eyes.  Jon helped her by sitting on the kitchen floor playing with the dogs, who normally had a habit of running circles around her trying to trip her when she was cooking.  As she worked, the girls sat at the counter talking animatedly.  Gilly had come out of her shell a little bit, perhaps helped along by the mostly-gone beer in the hand that wasn’t propping Little Sam on her knee.  She laughed along with the other girls’ joking and reassured Irri when she began to fret about the job interview she had tomorrow. 

            Dany kept catching Sansa staring at either her or Jon and finally shot a glare at her and mouthed at her to sod off.  Sansa responded by tipping her head, her eyes crackling with ice, and asking Jon, “So how was that shower?”

            Jon was unperturbed, not so much as looking up from Drogon’s belly as he rubbed it.  “Good.  Much needed.”  He looked up to Dany then.  “Did you want some more help with the deck tomorrow or maybe Wednesday?  I get off at four tomorrow.”

            “Sure, that would be awesome.”  Dany looked to Sansa with an eyebrow raised.  “Unless Sansa was going to bring her work clothes tomorrow?”

            Sansa kicked out her leg, showing off her black slacks and pumps.  “I’m wearing my work clothes.  My job description does not include manual labor.”

            Dany nodded to Jon.  “Four o’clock tomorrow, then.”

            They ate together, Little Sam slurping up his noodles one by one and giggling when they smacked him in the cheek.  Several times, Dany or Missandei had to remind Irri to keep eating as she brooded over the interview.  Eventually, Missandei offered to help Irri practice for the interview after dinner, which helped Irri’s mood tremendously.  Partway through the dinner, Jon slipped his hand onto Dany’s thigh, startling her at first and then soothing her nerves with his warmth.  She’d forgotten what it felt like to have someone who loved her at her side, supporting her and watching over her.  She’d forgotten the rush of peace that came from that person’s touch, from just being near them in an otherwise stressful situation.  She took a deep breath and laid her hand over his, squeezing his fingers in gratitude.

            While Missandei and Irri did the dishes and Gilly bathed Little Sam, Dany walked Jon and Ghost out.  On the front porch, under the light of the single lamp, his dark eyes drew her in until she forgot to breathe, and then his hands were on her hips and his mouth was on hers, kissing her slow and deep.  It must have been several minutes later that Jon pulled regretfully away because she was light-headed.  “Remember that later when you’re not sleeping,” he said gently.  “Maybe it’ll help.”

            She smiled and her eyes burned with tears the words were so sweet.  “Thank you.  I’m sure it will.”

            He smiled back, his eyes crinkled as he looked down on her.  “Goodnight, Dany.”

            “Goodnight, Jon.”

She walked back inside and shut the door, then armed the security system for the last time that night.  Then she made her way to the living room, desperate for a couch to fall onto with her dogs.  In the living room waited all four girls, as well as Little Sam and the three dogs, who were lazily playing together on the carpet.  She stopped in her tracks and studied Sansa, who had one eyebrow raised.  It was Irri who spoke though, a smirk on her face.  “Soooo?” she asked.  “How was he?”

Her tongue stuck in her throat and she felt a blush burn bright red up her sun burnt chest and face.  “I…he…”

“Come on!” Irri hissed.  “We know you fucked him and none of us have had a good fuck in ages.  How was he?”

Dany seriously contemplated turning on her heel and retreating to her bedroom, whether the dogs followed her or not, but then Missandei spoke somewhat more gently, gesturing that Dany take Drogon’s armchair and join them.  “Come on, Dany.  We’re not fools.  We’re not going to judge, just come talk to us.”

Dany groaned and lowered herself into the armchair, refusing to look at any of them.  After a quiet moment, Sansa said, “So you admit you fucked him?”

“Yes.”

Irri punched the air in victory and Gilly and Missandei both blushed and smirked.  Irri leaned forward off the couch and held out her hands animatedly.  “So?!  How was he?  Was it in the bedroom upstairs?”

Dany swallowed to steel herself and her stomach rolled threateningly.  “He was good.  It was…in the bathroom.”

“Oooh…” the girls cooed.  Missandei leaned over to mutter to Gilly, “I always wanted to try shower sex.”

“In my experience, it’s a bit awkward,” Gilly said, her eyes flicking to Missandei, then back to Dany.  “But then, the man I was with wasn’t quite as…strong as Jon Snow.”

Sansa rolled her eyes, then shot a mild glare at Dany.  “Dany, what the hell?”

Dany glared right back, feeling betrayed.  It had been Sansa who forced them to dance on Friday night, Sansa who had insisted she needed a nice guy to relax with.  “What?  You threw me at him on Friday night.”

Sansa’s face turned incredulous.  “I didn’t tell you to fuck him!  I told you to dance with him.  You’ve only known each other a few days.”

“We’ve known each other since high school,” Dany corrected.  “I actually knew him fairly well, we were history rivals.  There were just a few years where we both left home.”

Sansa rolled her eyes at the technicality.  “So, what happened?  You were pretty guarded with him on Friday and Saturday.”

Dany gritted her teeth and looked down at her hands in her lap.  “Well…he told me…things.  Important things.”  A light went on behind Sansa’s eyes and she immediately thawed out.  “And it convinced me to trust him.  And I kissed him and then…things just got…carried away.”

“He told you about Iraq,” Sansa said softly. 

Dany nodded and the other girls looked between them, trying to find the connection.  Finally, Irri snapped, “What about Iraq?”

“None of your business,” Sansa said.  There was no meanness in her voice, but there was a tone of finality that shut Irri down.  “You know,” she said, “Fucking him is going to make your life more stressful, not less so.”

Irri and Missandei both smirked and turned red, then Missandei said through a fit of giggles, “I think she seems less stressed than she was this afternoon.”

Sansa rolled her eyes again and threw up her hands, “Whatever.  So, you fucked him.”

Dany sighed and met Irri’s imploring stare.  “And it was wonderfully hot and sexy and mind-blowing.”

Irri grinned and gestured at her to continue.  “Was he rough and wild?  Or sweet and gentle?”

Dany blinked, thinking back over everything.  She frowned and her brow creased as she answered, “Well, he was very sweet, but I wouldn’t say gentle.”

“That’s how I like them,” Gilly threw in.  When Missandei and Sansa looked at her sharply, she shrugged and said, “What?  Too gentle is boring.  But he has to be sweet, saying nice things in your ear and kissing you all over.”

“And then he rails the shit out of you!” Irri finished. 

Sansa grimaced and got up out of her spot on the couch, drawing the attention of the dogs.  “Alright.  On that note, I don’t need to hear anymore about my brother’s sex life.  Please, carry on.  See you girls later.”

The girls said goodbye to Sansa and on her way past Dany, Dany grabbed Sansa’s hand and stopped her.  “Are we okay?” she asked.

Sansa nodded, her blue eyes clear and her jaw tight.  “Yep, we’re good.  I just don’t ever want to hear the details of my brother’s sex life, kay?”

“Deal.”

That night as Dany lay in bed with her dogs piled around her, she stared up into the darkness and felt lonely, her chest empty and throbbing with pain.  After nearly an hour of laying there consumed by the emptiness, she reached for her phone on the nightstand and texted him.

_Dany:  Miss you._

It took only a moment.

_Jon:  Miss you too.  Not sleeping?_

_Dany:  Lying in bed wide awake._

Her phone rang in her hands and she picked up the call.

“I was hoping the memories would be enough, but it’s just not cutting it,” Jon’s rough voice said on the other end of the line.

“Same here,” she said sadly.  “I’ve got my dogs all around me, Drogon’s actually pinning my legs down, and I keep thinking about this afternoon and it just makes me miss you more.”

“Ghost’s on my chest, that’s why my voice sounds kind of weird,” he said.  Then, he sighed, as if contemplating something serious.  “I wish I was there with you, love.”

She swallowed hard, shutting her eyes at the painful thought.  God, it would feel so good to be able to sleep in his arms, her head on his bare chest, their legs tangled together, his strong arms wrapped around her.  “I wish that too.”

“Maybe someday.”

“That’d be nice.”

The line went quiet for several longs seconds, then he said, “I love you, Daenerys.”

For a while, she just listened to his breathing, trying to match her own to it and replaying those words in her head.  Then, she said, “I think I can sleep now.”

“Good,” he said, relief and warmth in his voice.  She’d been a little worried that he’d be disappointed when she for the second time didn’t say the words back, but he took it in stride.  “Goodnight, Daenerys.”

“Goodnight, Jon.”

She hung up and set her phone on the nightstand, then looped her arms around Viserion and Rhaegal, pulling them tight against her.  Their love and their warmth seeped into her and she lay there with her eyes closed, remembering over and over the way he said, “I love you.”

And she fell asleep.


	6. Something You Should Know

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know there’s a trend to depict Catelyn Stark as not amazingly kind in fanfics because of the way she treated Jon. However, since in this fic Jon was a foster child, not Ned’s bastard, it seems fair to assume that he was wanted by the Starks and that Catelyn would be more of a welcoming, motherly type than the proud, cold woman she is in other works. I hope you like the depiction.
> 
> Fluff ahead!! (and smut)

The next morning, Dany, the dogs, and Irri piled into the truck to go to Irri’s interview.  Irri had found a pair of pin-stripe slacks and a flowy blouse at the thrift shop for the occasion and was wearing a pair of Sansa’s black pumps.  As they made their way down the street, blocky pitbull heads sticking out of both rear windows, Irri tapped an anxious tattoo on her forearm with her fingertips.

“It’s going to be fine,” Dany said softly, trying to reassure her friend.  For all her outspokenness, Irri’s self-esteem was still painfully low thanks to her ex and all those memories.  The lack of a filter was just a cheap mask over that.  “You will do great.”

Irri wound her fingers together and squeezed hard enough to whiten her knuckles.  “I’ve never worked in a bank.  What if they think I’m not serious enough?”

Dany’s brow tightened in concern and she shook her head.  “We talked about this.  Being a good teller is as much about connecting with the customers as it is about book smarts and seriousness.  They want people to have a good experience when they walk into the bank and you can do that.  You’re such a bright, fun person.  Just be you and they’ll see it.”

“Where do you come up with this shit, Dany?  You’re so good with words,” Irri groaned.

 _I was supposed to be a lawyer._ Dany shrugged and said, “I’m just saying what I think.”

They drove in silence for a quiet minute, then Irri said suddenly, “I’m sorry, by the way, if I made you uncomfortable last night talking about Jon Snow.  I didn’t mean to upset you or Sansa.”

“I know you didn’t and it’s fine, Irri,” Dany said without a moment’s hesitation.  “Sansa’s just feeling weird because Jon’s her foster brother.  As for me, you took me by surprise.  It’s just been so long since I’ve been with someone.  I wasn’t upset and I’m not now.”

“If you’re sure…”

“Just relax.  We’re almost there.”

They arrived at the bank and Dany pulled into a spot in the far corner of the lot, where the dogs would be less likely to disturb any bank patrons.  Irri took a deep breath, then nodded.  “Okay.  I got this.”

“You got this,” Dany agreed.

With another nod to herself, Irri got out of the truck and walked into the bank.

Dany waited a few minutes, watching the traffic with the dogs, then got out too.  She needed to get some spending cash for the House and she was here anyway.

It was on her way out of the bank that Dany recognized a familiar face.  “Mrs. Stark!”  She grinned and accepted a hug as Catelyn Stark spun in surprise and embraced her.

“Oh Dany, honey, I’ve told you it’s Catelyn.”  Catelyn released her and smiled warmly, her blue eyes sparkling the same way Sansa’s did.  “How is everything at the House?”

“Good, good,” Dany said.  “One of the girls actually has a job interview today.  Hopefully she’s a few short steps from being out on her own.”

“That’s wonderful!  Is there anything you need?  You know you can always come to me.  After everything you’ve done for the women in this town, and for Sansa…”

Dany smiled.  Catelyn, like Sansa, could be proud at times but at the end of the day, she was a mother first and foremost, especially to those in need.  “Actually, we have a new girl who would probably appreciate a little help.  She has a two-year-old son, you see, and she didn’t bring anything with her when she arrived.”

Catelyn’s face scrunched up in sadness and pity.  “Nothing?  No toys, no clothes?”

“Not even a diaper bag.  We have a pack-n-play at the House and I got her some basic stuff from Wal-Mart, but otherwise she and the boy have nothing right now.”

Catelyn melted.  “Oh, the poor things.  Say no more, Daenerys.  I’ll do some shopping this afternoon and stop by later.  What sizes do you think they are for clothes?”

Dany frowned.  “Hang on…I wonder if I still have my list from yesterday.”  She dug in her little black purse and after a moment’s searching produced the crumpled list.  “She wrote their clothing sizes down.  I just got her a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a cardigan and him a few sets of pjs and day clothes.  She insisted I not buy them much.”

“Oh posh,” Catelyn said, taking the list.  Her eyes sparkled mischievously.  “Don’t worry about a thing.  That girl and her babe won’t want for a thing.”

A wide smile spread across Dany’s face and warmth bubbled up in her, nearly bringing her to tears.  “Thank you so much, Catelyn.  I wouldn’t be able to do any of what I do without you.  It really means the world to me.”

Catelyn laid a comforting hand on Dany’s shoulder.  “Sweetie, I know that you’re the one doing the hard part, being there for those girls all the time, rebuilding their lives for them.  This is the least I can do.”

“Well, thank you,” Dany said, the smile still there.

Catelyn smiled in appreciation, then her eyes sparked and she leaned in conspiratorially.  “So, I heard a rumor that you and Jon are dating.”

A burning flush spread up her neck to her face.  If Catelyn Stark knew, there was a good chance everyone in Winterfell did.  “Well…yes, yes we are.”

Catelyn’s smile widened happily and she laid a hand on Dany’s cheek for a moment.  “I’m so glad.  You’re both so serious and so noble, never leave a minute for yourselves.  I think you’ll be happy and you’ve earned it, that’s for sure.”

Those words meant more than anything else Catelyn could’ve said or done.  This was the woman who’d raised Jon, who gave the House more support than anyone else in Winterfell combined.  Dany felt dizzy, like this wasn’t even real, she was so stunned.  “Thank you,” she breathed.  “That means a lot to me.”

            “No, thank _you_ ,” Catelyn said firmly.  “I mean it.  I haven’t seen Jon so happy since before he joined the marines.”

            Dany blinked.  “Really?”

            “Really.  You know what?  Why don’t you come to Ned’s party?  It’s the Saturday after Labor Day.  You can be Jon’s date and get to see the rest of the family.”

            Dany almost balked and had to fight to control her reaction.  Ned Stark’s birthday party was among the larger events in Winterfell all year on account of the number of friends the Starks had in town.  Even Mayor Lannister would be there and he rarely could be bothered with any social gathering.  “Um, yes.  That would be lovely.”

            “Great!  We’ll be happy to have you.  Now, I’d better get going on my shopping.”  Catelyn smiled and waved to her.  “See you later, Daenerys.”

            “See you, Catelyn.  Thank you!”

            Her head was still swimming when Irri joined her back in the truck, beaming.  “I got the job!” she squealed.  “Mr. Baelish asked me to start on Thursday.”

            “Oh my gods, congratulations!” Dany screamed with her, grabbing her in a tight hug.  “See?  I knew you had it.  Come on, let’s pick up a bottle of wine to celebrate.”

 

\------------------

 

            Dany and Irri stopped at the thrift shop to pick up a few more sets of work clothes for Irri, then chose a celebratory merlot from the liquor store.  Back at the House a few hours later, Dany and Irri had between the two of them gone through half the wine bottle and when Catelyn Stark arrived with four bags of clothes, a farmhouse playset, a stuffed wolf, and more coloring books and crayons than Little Sam knew what to do with, Gilly dissolved into tears, earning herself ten minutes of heartfelt hugging from Catelyn. 

            When Jon arrived shortly after four with Ghost, Catelyn, Gilly, Missandei and Little Sam were playing together with the farmhouse on the living room floor while a tipsy Irri and Dany looked on from the kitchen.  Dany let in Jon and Ghost, causing an upset among the pits, who’d been calmly dozing together in a pile on the couch.  Sam shouted out, “Ghost!” in his little voice as Ghost went tearing through the living room, attracting the three pits chasing him with Drogon in the lead.  Dany couldn’t help laughing and commented to Jon, “You know, Ghost’s his favorite.  I don’t know if it’s because he’s fluffy or because his name is so much easier than the others, but…”

            The rest of the words on her lips were forgotten as Jon kissed her long and sweet on the mouth, his tongue teasing her upper lip until she sighed and gave him access.  Then, both his hands were on her cheeks, his fingertips at her temples, and she was drowning in his kisses, warm and liquid from her braids to her toes.  When he finally broke the kiss, she staggered and gasped for air.  “Sorry,” Jon said huskily, also struggling for air.  “I’ve been waiting to do that since I left you last night.”

            Dany smiled, her chest bubbling with warmth at the sweet words.  “Well, I’ve been waiting for you to do that since last night, so I guess we both got what we wanted.”

            There was a soft clearing of a throat and Jon dropped his hands so they could both look to Missandei in the living room, whose dark skin was flushed with red and who was sitting beside an even redder Catelyn Stark.  Jon immediately turned lobster-red and seemed to shrink in his skin in embarrassment.  “Hey, mum.”

            “Jon,” Catelyn said, managing to keep a straight face as Missandei and Gilly choked on laughter.  “How was work?”

            “Good,” he choked out, making his way to the living room.  Dany wanted to die of embarrassment too, but she was too busy being fascinated by how adorable Jon looked flustered like this to be very concerned.  “It was mostly a paperwork day, I guess, nothing too exciting.  What are you doing here?”

            Catelyn gestured to Little Sam, who was playing animatedly with the sheep and cow toys.  “I’m playing Farm with Sam, of course.”

            That was enough to send a mostly-drunk Irri into a fit of laughter in the kitchen.  Everyone else, with the exception of Catelyn, managed to keep their laughter bottled up behind a smirk.  “Of course,” Jon said.

            “Your mother was kind enough to bring Sam and Gilly some toys and clothes and things,” Dany explained.

            Catelyn took Gilly’s hand and said, “It was nothing.  Seeing this little guy having so much fun is well worth it.”

            “That’s…nice,” Jon forced himself to say.  After a moment’s embarrassment, he looked to Dany for a line.  “So, are we working on the deck today?”

            “Sure,” Dany said, leading him through the house to the kitchen overlooking the back deck.  Irri was perched on her barstool sipping wine and smirking at Jon.  Jon waved to her awkwardly and gestured at the wine.  “A little early for that, isn’t it?”

            “Not for me,” she said.  “I got a job today!”

            The flush vanished from Jon’s face and he grinned, stretching out a hand to high-five Irri.  “That’s awesome!  Where at?”

            “Baelish Financial,” she answered, smiling proudly.  “Thursday will be my first day.”

            “That’s great, Irri, congratulations!” he said warmly, sincerely.  Dany felt another shard of ice inside her melt at the scene. After a moment, she said, “Yeah, we can work on the deck, but I’ve been helping Irri with the wine, so…”

            “No powertools for you,” Jon finished.  “That’s fine.  I don’t mind doing most of the work.  Just help me with placing the boards and keep me company.”

            “Deal.”

 

\------------------

 

            It was that evening during dinner that her phone rang.  Jon squeezed her thigh under the table as she got up and she touched his hand as she fled to the kitchen to grab her phone on the third ring.  “Hello?”

            “Is this Daenerys?”

            Dany blinked.  It was a male voice and there was definitely an undertone of danger.  She stiffened and heard the dinner table fall silent behind her as she answered, “Yes, and who is this?”

            “You know who it is, bitch,” the voice snarled.  A shot of fear burrowed under her skin, sinking into her veins and her hand went to her lips to stifle the sudden terror.  “You’d better drop the fucking charges before something bad happens.  If you think you’re safe there in that old house of yours with nothin’ but a couple of dogs and some scared little women, you’re wrong.  I will fuck you up and there is nothing you can do to stop me.”

            Dany swallowed hard, then found the rage simmering deep inside of her and let it out in a voice like ice.  “If you think that threat is going to make me drop the charges, you’ve got another thing coming.  Leave me and my House the fuck alone or I promise you _will_ regret it.  Fuck off.”  With that, she hung up the phone and promptly blocked the number.  When she turned back to the table, it was to three sets of wide, terrified eyes and to Jon, who had at some point stood up fast enough to shove back his chair.  “Who the fuck was that?” Jon asked, his voice low and dangerous.

            Dany swallowed hard and when her eyes moved to meet Missandei’s, the girl burst into tears.  “Oh gods, I’m so sorry, Dany,” she moaned.  “I’ve put you all in danger and I’m so sorry…”

            Dany rushed to Missandei’s side and wrapped her arms around her shoulder tight.  “Shh, shh, M, no.  No, this is part of what I signed up for.  We’re not dropping the charges.  We’re perfectly safe here.  We have the dogs and the security system will have the police here in seconds if someone breaks in…”

            “And me,” Jon said.  Dany looked to him in shock and found his face set with seriousness and darkness in his eyes.  “If you’ll have me, I’ll stay here with you until the trial.”

            Dany swallowed hard, trying to smother the sweet image of falling asleep in his arms.  “You mean that?  The trial is in three weeks.”

            Jon nodded, then looked to Gilly and Irri.  “I do mean that.  If it would put your minds at ease, that is.”

            Gilly had one hand on Little Sam’s back and at the words, gripped Jon’s wrist with the other as if he might walk out the door that second.  “Yes.  Please stay with us.”

            Irri took Missandei’s hand and squeezed it, nodding to Jon.  “If we had our own personal cop, that would mean a lot,” she said softly.

            Dany’s mouth had gone dry, her blood pumping hard through her veins with adrenaline, faster and faster since she’d hung up that phone call.  “Thank you, Jon.  That would be great.”

            He nodded, his eyebrows drawn low over his dark eyes in severity.  “Daenerys, come have a word with me.  Then I’ll run to my apartment and grab my stuff.”

            Dany gave Missandei a final squeeze, then gently released her as Irri took her place, whispering soothing things in M’s ears.  Dany squeezed around the table, attracting the attention of her three very alert dogs, who were watching the scene with great anxiety.  Drogon got off his armchair and followed her and Jon to the laundry room.  Once the three of them were inside, Jon shut the door softly, turned on the light and looked to Daenerys.  “That was M’s ex on the phone?”

            She nodded.  “Mo Craznys.  He has a rap sheet a mile long.  She’d landed in the hospital half a dozen times and the cops were called by the neighbors three times before she got out.  She was so scared to leave him.”

            Jon shut his eyes.  “And he knows where you are.”

            “I don’t know how.  The residents here are kept strictly confidential.  The only way would be for him to guess or for him to get private information somehow.”  She frowned and thought for awhile as a disturbing thought occurred to her.  “If he knew that Sansa was the prosecutor and that Sansa regularly takes pro bono cases for the House, that might lead him to me.  My cellphone number is the crisis line for the House.”

            Jon nodded.  “I want you to call Sansa while I’m gone and tell her about the call.  And I want you to put a recording app on your phone in case he calls again.”

            Dany’s eyebrows shot up.  “That’s a thing?  An app to record phone calls?”

            He nodded again.  “I’ll leave Ghost here with you.  I won’t be gone long.”

            She nodded, her throat tight.  After a long moment, Jon stepped forward and grabbed her in a fierce hug.  The warmth of his firm chest, of his safe, strong arms around her, brought tears to her eyes and she squeezed him as tight as she could to hold the tears in.  “You’re okay,” he said softly.  “You’re okay, you’re tough.  You’ve got this.  I’m just here to help the girls feel safer and to put my own mind at ease.  You don’t need me for this.”

            She swallowed her tears and dug her fingers into his back.  “I do need you.”

            Jon sighed and rubbed her back gently, leaning his head on hers.  He kissed the top of her head once, then ran his hand over her braids, straightening the one long braid down between her shoulder blades.  “In that case, I’ll be back as soon as I can.  I need you to do those things for me while I’m gone, okay?”

            “Okay.”

            She walked him to the front door under the watchful gaze of the girls and the dogs.  Jon whistled once and Ghost appeared at his side from where he’d been snoozing on the couch.  At the front door, Jon looked at Ghost in dead seriousness and said in a solid voice, “Guard the house until I get back.”  Ghost stared at him in equal seriousness and utter silence.  A chill went up Dany’s spine watching him.

            Jon’s hand settled on her hip and she turned to him, breaking from her reverie.  Jon still looked serious and determined and kissed her once briefly before pulling away.  “I’ll be right back.  It won’t take me more than twenty minutes.”

            Dany nodded and he kissed her forehead once, then exited through the front door.  When he’d gone, Dany armed the security system and deadbolted the door under Ghost’s watchful gaze.  Then, she raced up the stairs, loaded her Kimber, and raced back down the stairs with it in her waistband.  Back in the dining room, she returned to her seat, phone in hand and said to the girls, “It’s going to be fine.  Nothing’s going to happen.  Ghost is in work mode guarding the door for us and Jon will be back in twenty minutes.  I’m just going to call Sansa and let her know something happened, okay?”

            Missandei buried her face in her hands and Gilly tended to a fussing Sam, but Irri nodded in support.  Dany took a deep, shaky breath, then called Sansa and explained what happened.  One of the first things Sansa told her to do was download a recording app, which she promised to do.  Without any evidence of wrongdoing, though, there was nothing they could do besides drop the charges, which they were already in too deep to do.  If Mo Craznys, didn’t go to prison, there was a very real chance he’d hurt one of them. 

            When she hung up with Sansa, Dany started the app downloading on her phone and proceeded to clear the table and put away the leftovers.  No one was interested in eating any more.  As she cleaned up, every five minutes like clockwork she watched Ghost silently walk the perimeter of the house, eyeing all of the doors and windows carefully.  Dog-whisperer or not, she was shocked that Jon could have trained Ghost to do that.  The dog was more disciplined and more intelligent than humans she knew.

            A knock at the door sent Missandei into tears again and injected venom into Ghost, who immediately began barking and growling fiercely, fiercer even than her pits who joined in.  Dany took the Kimber in hand, checked the peephole, then unbolted the door and let Jon in.  When Ghost saw his best friend, he immediately sat and whined until Jon rubbed his head and said, “Good boy.  Good job.  Thank you.”  Jon set his duffel bag at the base of the stairs and greeted the dogs while he watched her put in the security code and then tuck the Kimber back in her waistband.  “You do look sexy as all hell holding that thing,” he said.

            That was enough to crack the ice and make Dany smirk.  “Thanks.”

            “You ever fire it?”

            “Not in a while.”

            Jon pursed his lips, then said, “Maybe I should take you to a shooting range sometime.”

            “That would be fun,” she said with a small smile.  She liked the idea of Jon’s arms around her, helping her to properly hold a new gun she’d never tried before.  She also liked the idea of the look on his face when she shot out the heart of a target.

            “Good.  We’ll have to do that, then.”  Jon stood up from the crouch he’d been in to pet the dogs and walked past her to the dining room.  She followed him, checking out the handgun he had in _his_ waistband now.  There was something terribly sexy about the way he looked wearing it, the way he walked with a little more swagger than usual.

            When he got to the dining room, Jon reached across the table to Missandei, who shakily put her hand in his and let him gently squeeze it.  “It’s going to be fine,” he reassured her.  “No one’s getting in this house and if they did, they’d sorely regret it.  Okay?”

            Missandei nodded and Irri squeezed her a little tighter.  Then, Jon looked to Gilly, who had Little Sam in her lap and her arms wrapped around him.  “It’s going to be okay.  This is what Dany and I do.  It’s our job to be able to handle things like this.”  Gilly nodded, looking reassured.  Dany breathed a sigh of relief.  They still believed in her, still felt safe under her protection, with Jon’s help.  And if they believed in her, she could too.

            There had been talk of watching a movie after dinner, but after the whole mess with Mo’s phone call no one was interested anymore.  Gilly took Sam upstairs for his bath and to go to bed.  Irri and Missandei followed shortly after, Missandei giving another tearful apology to Dany on her way to the stairs. 

            When they’d gone, Dany continued to sit at the dining table for a moment, rubbing Viserion’s stumps of ears as he sat with his head in her lap.  Jon got up and stood behind her, rubbing her shoulders so that she practically purred at the release of tension.  “Let’s go to bed, love,” he said softly.

            She shook her head.  “I can’t sleep tonight.  I have to do rounds and make sure the girls are okay.  Missandei will be up every other hour.”

            Jon sighed and moved his hands to massage her neck.  Her eyes fell shut and she moaned softly.  “Well, I didn’t say _sleep_.”

            The warmth that was trickling down her spine from his hands pooled between her thighs.  “Hmm…”

            “Come on, love.”

            She got up then and took his hand when he offered it.  On the way to the staircase, she turned off the lights and Jon paused by Ghost’s side to tell him in that firm voice, “Your watch.”

            Ghost sat, his ears on high alert and his eyes bright.

            Jon grabbed his duffel bag and Viserion, Rhaegal, and Drogon followed them up the stairs as they ascended.  Every step made her feel that much warmer, that much more light-headed and dizzy.  It was his hand in hers that kept her going, kept her from stumbling.  She’d never felt like this, not with Drogo or Daario.  She’d never felt weak in the knees with want like she did now.  She’d never enjoyed sex so much that her legs turned to water afterward.

            When they reached the attic, Jon let the dogs in, then shut the door.  She had just turned on the lamp when Jon tugged her by the hand to him.  She landed in his arms, her hands on his chest, and he kissed her, his mouth warm and soft on hers, his tongue teasing at hers.  He dropped his duffel bag and clutched her to him so her back arched and her body pressed against his.  She moaned softly against his lips and his right hand moved to stroke the side of her face from her temple to her jaw.  The feeling of safety and bliss, the feeling of being _loved_ , that followed his touch was almost more than she could bear.  It was certainly more than she ever thought she would feel again.

            “Are you okay?” Jon asked her.

            She swallowed what felt suspiciously like tears and nodded.  “Yeah, I just…never thought I’d have something like this.”

            Jon kissed her lips softly, then whispered, “Come on, love.  I’ve got you.”

            The dogs had settled on the bed and she shooed them off to lay on the rug instead, to which Drogon looked terribly offended.  As she laid her gun on the nightstand and sat on the bed and as she watched the way Jon looked at her as he did the same, a sick feeling twisted her gut.  There were reasons why she had never thought she’d have something like this, reasons he deserved to know if he loved her and planned to live with her for at least the next three weeks, reasons that may change his mind.  As he slipped an arm around her shoulders and leaned in to kiss her, she laid a finger on his lips to stop him and whispered, “Jon?”

            “Hmm?”

            “There’s something you should know.”

            Jon’s dark eyes snapped open and he kissed her fingertip.  “Okay.  Tell me.”

            She shut her eyes tight as the pain rose up inside her.  “My…husband, Drogo.  He didn’t leave.  He…died.”

            Jon’s eyebrows shot up and he stroked her back soothingly.  “Shit.  I’m sorry, Dany.”

            She swallowed hard, choking on the pain.  “He died right in front of me.  And there was nothing I could do.  It was a heart attack.  He just…dropped.”

            “Gods.”  Jon wrapped both arms around her and held her tight to his chest.  “I’m sorry, love.  Is that why you didn’t become a lawyer?”

            She nodded.  “I didn’t have the discipline anymore.  I didn’t want to throw my life away on the schooling and everything.  I wanted to come home and help women who were as broken as me.”

            “Oh, love,” Jon murmured.  “You’re not broken.  You’re as tough as nails.”

            “Sometimes, when I’m good at hiding it.  But…that’s not all.”  Jon stiffened and the tears pricked at Dany’s eyes as she choked on the words.  “When…Drogo died, I was…pregnant.”  Jon rested his forehead on her head, as if he knew where this story was going.  And in a way, he did.  After all, the only children she had were her dogs.  She laced her fingers together and clenched them white-knuckle tight to hold back the tears.  “I was twenty weeks along.  We’d been trying since we got married, the doctors said it was a miracle I was able to get pregnant at all.  Something about me having an…’inhospitable womb.’  I was upstairs when I heard him hit the kitchen floor.  Just this great _thud._   Like he was…already dead.  Maybe he was.  I ran down the stairs…and I…I fell.”

            Jon crushed her to his chest and kissed her hair.  “Oh, love.  I’m so sorry.”

            The tears began to fall and she shut her eyes as they stained Jon’s shirt.  “I miscarried, right there on the floor staring at his body.”  The tears turned into wracking sobs and she clutched at Jon’s shirt to keep from shattering.  “Gods, he was so little, my Rhaego.  No bigger than my forearm.  He never even took a breath.”

            Jon wound his fingers into her hair and pressed his other hand into the center of her back, holding her tight.  “Gods, love.  I’m so sorry.”

            Dany shuddered and finished, “I almost died too.  I wished I had.  When I got to the hospital, the doctors told me I would never be able to carry a child again.”

            “That’s why you have the pits, why you have the House,” Jon said softly, sounding faintly breathless.  “The dogs and the girls are your children.”  She nodded and he kissed her hair again.  After a long moment of quiet, Jon said, “If you’re telling me this because you think I’ll walk away, you’re wrong.  If this is what you told that other guy and he left you over, that’s not me.”

            “Jon…”

            “No,” he said softly, cutting her off.  “Dany, I can’t say kids are something I’ve never thought of or wanted, but they’re not something I’m going to give up on this for.  Let’s see where this goes, love.  If we get there and we want that, there are other ways.  Or maybe the doctors you saw were idiots and Rhaego isn’t the only miracle baby you can have.”  That wrenched a sob from her and he tightened his grip on her.  “Hey, you’re okay.  Let’s just give this a shot, okay?  I love you and I’m not going anywhere.  I just want you.”

            A fist clenched around her heart and the sobs stopped abruptly as she held onto him and he held onto her.  _I just want you._   She hadn’t realized how badly she needed to hear those words, hadn’t realized that they’d been what she was seeking for the last two years.  Someone who wanted her for who she was, demons and all.  She pulled back enough to meet Jon’s eyes, molten black with pain.  “You mean that?” she asked, her voice choked.

            Jon’s brows creased together and he said, “Yes, I mean that.  Of course, I do.  Dany, I’ve been in love with you since you kicked my ass doing that debate in US History.  Pulling you over was the best thing I’ve done in years and the past few days have been the best I’ve felt in years and it’s because of you.  Just you, exactly as you are.”

            Dany shut her eyes tight and felt the tears hit her cheeks as she tried to hold in the tidal wave of emotion.  “Hey,” Jon said.  “Look at me, love.”  She opened her eyes again to find nothing but sincerity and naked honesty in her dark grey eyes.  “I’m so sorry for everything you’ve been through, but I’m so fucking glad you came home and I get to be the one to take care of you.  I love you, Dany, and I meant what I said when I told you I’d make you happy.  Whatever you need, I’m here.”

            She swallowed hard, choking on the last of the tears as he kissed the ones on her cheeks away.  Then, she whispered, “I need…to feel…wanted.”

            “I can do that,” Jon said, his voice low and smooth like satin on her skin.  His lips met hers in a long, sweet kiss, then another and another until she felt breathless.  When his tongue traced her lower lip, she shivered as she let him in, let his tongue dance with hers.  Slowly, his hands roamed over her back, then up her sides to tease around her breasts.  When she sighed, he lowered her onto the bed and followed her down, hovering over her with his mouth on hers, his hands on her ribs.  She ran her hands up and down his chest, down and back up his muscly arms, remembering the way he’d looked naked, with his lovely, powerful chest, his abs pressed against her hips.  She found the hem of his t-shirt and pushed it up his back until Jon felt it and discarded it.  Her hands found his bare chest, the soft black hairs right in the center, the raw scars that had never properly healed over his chest and mid-section.  One scar was terrifyingly close to his heart and her insides twisted and clenched at the thought of him dying in the dust in Iraq. 

            “Stop thinking about it,” he murmured against her lips.  “I’m here with you.  I’m not over there anymore.”

            “I know,” she returned.  “It just makes me sick how close you were to dying and not being here.”

            He stroked her cheek and kissed her forehead softly.  “I’m not going anywhere, love.  It’s just you and me.”

            She kissed him and pulled him down over her so she could feel his chest pressed into hers, his legs tangled up in hers.  The kiss became faster and more desperate and Jon’s hand found her breast, making her whimper in need.  Jon knelt between her thighs and lifted her off the bed enough to peel away her tank-top, then her lace bra.  When her back hit the bed again, Jon’s mouth was on her left breast, kissing, sucking, and biting while his fingertips rolled her right nipple.  She moaned in pleasure, in longing, and he ground his hips into her.  He was rock-hard under his jeans and the pressure of it was enough to make her moan again and wrap her legs around him.  As he moved to kiss her throat, his hand found her thigh and squeezed it, clutching it to him like he needed her wrapped around him to survive.  “Gods, I want you,” he groaned against her skin.

            “I want you,” she said back, her voice light and breathy from all those kisses.

            Jon found the button of her jeans and sat back to strip them from her.  At the sight of her transparent lace thong, he paused for a moment to shake his head at her and say in a gruff voice, “Are you trying to tease me?”

            That look in his eyes of raw hunger was enough to make her mouth go dry and she wantonly tipped her knees out, opening herself up to him.  “No teasing.”

            Jon shook his head again, then slipped off her thong and kissed his way down her thighs.  As he got closer, she laid her head back, too caught up to be able to watch him and stay sane.  His mouth found her outer lips and teased at them with feather-light kisses, then his tongue traced her inner lips until she whimpered and tightened her legs around him.  One of his hands gripped her ass, clutching her to him as he dipped his tongue inside her and made her buck against him.  “Gods, Jon…” she moaned.

            He drank her in relentlessly, making her squirm under him and grab at his black curls.  When he sucked on her clit, she nearly came undone, whimpering and cursing beneath him.  “Tell me what you want, love,” he murmured against her center.

            “I want you inside me,” she moaned.

            He slipped his tongue deep inside her, making her shudder.  “Like this?”

            “Jon…”

            Two fingers slid inside her and she cried out when he curled them, finding _that spot_.  “Or like this?”

            “Oh, fuck, Jon…” she hissed, fighting her climax with fists clenched in his hair and toes curled on the bed.

            He slid his fingers in and out, pressing on her G-spot and her legs flailed.  He adjusted his grip on her ass, winding his arms around her legs to pin her down as he assailed her. 

“Gods…” she moaned, “Jon…”

Still not relenting with his fingers, Jon lowered his head again and circled her nub with his tongue.  She struggled against him, but when he sucked on her, her release washed over her and she saw stars, her muscles clenching around his hand.  Only when she had completely finished and gone limp did he relent, releasing her to undo his belt and drop his jeans, then his boxers.  “If you don’t feel wanted yet,” Jon said roughly, “It’s about to be pretty obvious how badly I want you.”

Dany smirked and reached for him as he stood naked before her, his cock standing at attention.  As he knelt on the bed between her legs, she wrapped one hand around his cock and gently pulled him toward her by it.  Jon groaned and leaned over her to kiss her as she rubbed him up and down.  “Gods,” he growled.  “I need you.  I need to be inside that sweet cunt of yours.”

A shot of longing rippled up her spine and she arched her body to press her breasts and her wet cunt against him.  He growled at the contact and she whispered in his ear, “What are you waiting for, then?”

Jon growled and sheathed himself in her to the hilt, driving her down into the bed as she gasped.  The fullness and the tightness rippled through her body, making her feel warm and wanted and whole.  She dug her heels into his perfect ass as he moved inside her, pushing in and out over and over as she moaned.  When he stretched one hand over her ass, holding her against her as he fucked her, she groaned and grabbed him by the hair, pulling him in for a hard, needy kiss.  “Fuck, Dany,” he growled.

“I want you to come,” she murmured in his ear.

“Gods…” he groaned, pumping into her harder and faster until he came with a low growl, his seed spilling inside her.  She shuddered and came moments later, riding on the high of being so wanted as much as the physical stimulation.

They laid together naked under the covers, Dany sprawled across his chest, their legs tangled together.  She didn’t sleep and it wasn’t hard to convince herself to stay awake, but it was harder to make herself leave the bed to make her rounds.  As she laid there across his chest and watched him slip away to sleep, Dany felt her heart swell and she whispered to his sleeping form, “I love you too, Jon Snow.”


	7. Feeling Vulnerable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the kind and thoughtful comments! As some of you know, I'm snowed in this weekend (literally, my mailbox is buried the snow's so deep), so I'm happily enjoying forced writing time. Maybe I can even pull another chapter by tonight or tomorrow....
> 
> This one's in Jon's POV and it's so damn sweet your teeth will ache, lol. Enjoy!

           Jon hadn’t slept that well since he got back from Iraq.  Even when he woke to Dany slipping in or out of bed, making her rounds checking on the girls, it only brought memories of falling asleep with her body draped across his, of her whispered “I love you” when she thought he was asleep, of spilling his seed inside her and praying for just a moment that he could get her pregnant, just because she so badly wanted that.  All told, he got at least seven hours of sleep, twice his usual.

            She’d said she loved him.  _I love you, Jon Snow._   There could be no mistaking what he’d heard and it had not been a dream.  He had felt her breath on his skin with the words, had felt the way her muscles tensed with nerves, wondering if he was really asleep, before she spoke.  That was real and his mind was not creative enough to put those details in a dream.  She’d said it and she wouldn’t have said it to his sleeping body if she didn’t mean it.

            Daenerys Targaryen in love with him.  It was enough to make any man sleep well.

            He awoke to an empty bed and an empty room, not even a slobbering pitbull staring him in the face.  He dressed in fresh clothes from his duffel and grabbed the bag of bones out of it that he’d brought for Ghost.  The third and second floors were quiet as he descended the staircase to where Ghost waited, patiently watching him from the front door.  Jon gave him a bone and rubbed his ears gratefully.  “Good job, boy.  Thanks.”  Ghost hurried to the living room to gnaw on his bone far from the pits and Jon followed the sounds and smells of breakfast to the kitchen.

            There was a pot of coffee and a pot of tea on the counter, hot and ready.  A stack of plates and flatware waited patiently on the counter while Daenerys worked at the stove.  The oven was on and he could swear he smelled the sweet heady scent of scones.  At the sight of him, Rhaegal grinned wildly and skidded across the hardwood to plow into his leg, demanding pets.  Viserion and Drogon followed, nearly bowling him over.  Dany watched with a smirk on her face, saying, “Good morning, Jon.”

            “Good morning, Daenerys,” he said back, slightly winded and struggling to pet all three dogs at once.  “Your guard dogs got me.”

            Dany snorted.  “Yeah, they’re vicious, aren’t they?”

            Jon wrestled Drogon against his chest and released the big pit with a kiss on the head.  “Yep.  Mindless beasts.”  He stood and made his way to Dany, who was presiding over two frying pans and a toaster.  “Oh gods, bacon,” he groaned.

            Dany rolled her eyes, but he saw her smile out of the corner of his eye.  “Don’t eat it all.  How do you like your eggs?”

            Jon snitched a kiss on her cheek and a piece of bacon from the plate at the same time.  Dany hissed at him in mild rebuke.  “I’m sure however you cook them, they’ll be delicious.”

            He was pretty sure she rolled her eyes again, but he was too busy fighting off the pits to catch it.  “Drogon, stay down,” he said firmly.  Drogon whined, eyeing the bacon like he was starving to death.  “I know, your mommy never feeds you and it’s horrible,” Jon moaned to him.

            Dany hissed again and said, “They eat me out of house and home.  I feel like all I do all day is refill their bowls.  Don’t believe their lies.”

            Jon snorted and finished his bacon, then bent to pet the pits again as they whined at him.  “I know, babies, I know, it’s terrible.”

            “Do you take coffee or tea?” Dany asked him.

            “Tea sounds good.  Thank you.”  He normally drank coffee and could count on one hand the number of times he’d had hot tea, but he knew she drank it.  Before he could move towards the pot, Dany spun around him and poured a cup for him, then spun back to the stove.  “There’s milk in the fridge,” she said.

            Jon blinked, still a little sleepy and nearly losing track of her amidst the dogs.  He thought about grabbing her and stopping her in her tracks to kiss her, but decided against disturbing her process.  _I love you, Jon Snow._   He couldn’t get her voice out of his head.  He wanted to haul her back upstairs and kiss her and fuck her until she said the words again. 

            With a shake of his head, Jon shoved off the memories and waded through the pitbulls to grab the milk from the fridge.  He’d seen her prepare her tea with a dash of milk and a heaping teaspoon of sugar, so that was what he would do.  “Did you sleep at all?” he asked Dany.

            “No,” she said, sighing.  “I didn’t expect to, though.  I’ll grab a nap once the girls are up.”

            “I don’t mean to be an ass, but what do they do during the day?” Jon asked.

            Dany snorted.  “You could never be an ass.  Missandei usually reads.  She’s thinking about going back to grad school if she can get the financial aid.  Soon, Irri will be working full-time, but for the past few months it’s been mostly binge-watching tv.  She has a thing for hospital shows.  Gilly chases Sam around.”

            “And you?” he asked.  She paused, but didn’t answer.  “What do you do?”

            Dany shrugged.  “I cook.  I clean.  I take care of this falling-down house.  I try to control my dogs.  I run errands for the House or meet with Sansa about court case stuff.  Sometimes I write appeal letters or thank-you notes to donors.”

            “How do you afford this?  All donations?”

            She shrugged again and poured steaming scrambled eggs onto a plate with bacon and buttered toast.  “I bought the house with Drogo’s life insurance policy and there’s still enough left over for dog food and whatever.  The day-to-day stuff with the House all comes from donations.  Your family is our biggest donor.” 

She offered him the plate, the steam wafting into his face and smelling like buttery bacony heaven.  “Thanks,” he said, taking the plate to the counter.  The eggs were scrambled in salt, pepper, butter, cheese, and ham.  His mouth watered between bites as he wolfed them down.  “Where did you learn to cook?” he asked.

            “I taught myself,” she answered, frowning.  “It was something I had to learn when I was married to Drogo.  He had very specific dietary guidelines he had to follow to stay in shape and he would’ve been happy just eating protein shakes all day, but I wanted to actually enjoy my food, so I did all the cooking.”

            That was the second time she mentioned Drogo since telling him about him last night and it made his stomach roll.  “Were you happy with him?”

            She stopped stirring the second batch of eggs and he regretted asking, but then she answered, “Sometimes.  We didn’t have much in common, but we got along well enough.  He liked being the big, strong man and that was something I needed then.  We were closer when I was…pregnant.”

            Jon moved around the counter to stand behind her and wrap his arms around her middle, resting his head on her shoulder.  “I’m sorry, love.  I shouldn’t have asked.”

            Dany shook her head stiffly and flipped the eggs.  The muscles of her torso were tight with tension under his arms.  “It’s okay,” she lied.  “I brought him up.”

            Jon felt sick, feeling in her body how tense she was, like a bow bent back to its limit.  He kissed her temple and said softly, “It’s not okay.  You’re tired, you’ve had a stressful night, the last thing you need is bad memories.”  He gestured to the stove.  “I’d offer to finish making you breakfast, but I’d burn it.  Why don’t you finish this and then we’ll sit on the deck and eat together.”

            She hesitated, then softened slightly and nodded.

            While Dany finished cooking and took the scones out of the oven, Jon hunted down a big rope tug-toy that the pits seemed attached to.  They went out into the backyard together, him, Dany, and the four dogs.  There wasn’t quite enough deck for any deck furniture, but Jon tossed the tug-toy into the yard and the dogs fought over it playfully, leaving him and Dany to sit on the deck and eat in peace.

            “What time do you work today?” Dany asked.

            “Noon to ten.”

            “Okay.  I’ll wait up for you tonight.”

            He looked to the dark circles under her eyes and it was on the tip of his tongue to ask for a key, but he choked on the words.  This wasn’t just Dany’s home he’d be asking for a key to, and even that wouldn’t be okay this early on.  This was a key to the House with the Red Door and no one but Dany and the survivors she housed had a right to that key.  Finally, he choked out the word, “Thanks.”

            Jon finished his scone and set the plate aside, then laid his hand on her lower back.  For a moment, she stiffened, but then he felt the tension begin to seep out of her back.  “Thank you for last night,” he said, his voice embarrassingly rough.  “You didn’t have to tell me those things and I appreciate that you trusted me enough to.”

            Dany finished her eggs and set her plate aside, looking down at her hands clasped on her knees.  “You deserved to know.”

            He blinked at the stiffness still in her voice and asked softly, “Is everything okay, love?”

            Dany shut her eyes and nodded, then turned to meet his gaze with her violet eyes.  “It’s fine.  I’m just tired, like you said, and I guess feeling a little…vulnerable.”

            He nodded, aching to kiss her and tell her she didn’t need that armor she’d grown so used to.  He had to remember that this was new for her and new in a scary way.  He couldn’t expect her to slip into it as easily as he had.  He was leaving behind an empty apartment and a quiet life.  She was leaving behind the hard shell she’d used to be a powerful protector for these women, the steel exterior that kept memories of her dead husband and son away, memories of the idiot who didn’t want to see her cry, memories of Viserys, of her dead mother and brother, of her drunken, mad father.  He was giving up things that made him vulnerable, she was giving up things that made her strong.

            She could be strong for part of the time, though, couldn’t she?  She could relax and let him take care of her when it was just the two of them and she could be a wolf protecting her pups when some asshole called and tried to rattle her.  How could he help her see that?  How could he show her that he didn’t want her to be vulnerable, he wanted to help her be strong in a healthier way?

            His mind went back to her holding that gun, looking like the heroine of some action movie, beautiful and dangerous.  Tomorrow was his day off, he could take her to the shooting range then.  And he could help her finish this damn deck this morning.  It was almost done.

            “I don’t want you to feel vulnerable,” he finally said to her.  She looked to him with those amethyst eyes that killed him and he said, “I like you strong.  But you don’t have to be strong when it’s just you and me.  I swear on my life, Daenerys, I would never hurt you.”

            Dany nodded and looked away, hiding the look on her face.  After a long moment, Jon said, “Let’s finish this deck while you wait for the girls to get up.  It’s almost done and then you can have that off your plate.”

            Dany eyed the small pile of lumber waiting at the foot of the nonexistent deck stairs and nodded.  “That’s a good idea.”

            They laid the remaining deckboards with the occasional inspection by Drogon or Rhaegal and had move on to cutting the boards for the steps to length when Missandei appeared in her robe and slippers, tea in hand, looking haggard.  “What on earth are two doing?” she asked groggily.  “It’s nine a.m.”

            Dany handed Jon a board and he screwed it down on the top step.  “We’re finishing this damn deck,” Dany said.  “I can’t sleep until it’s done.”

            Missandei groaned and ran a hand through her wild hair.  “You’re insane.”

            “Just determined,” Jon said with a crooked smile.

            Gilly and Sam came out to the deck not long after and while Jon laid the last board on the steps, Gilly helped Dany moved the deck furniture into place.  When they finally finished, Missandei handed Dany her mug of tea, freshly topped off, and gestured to the deck chairs.  “Shall we?”

            Dany grinned and Jon caught himself staring at her for a moment, loving how triumphant and at ease she looked.  The four of them sat at the chairs around the patio table, watching Viserion babysit Sam, stopping him if he got too close to the steps with licks to the face and gentle nudges back to the center of the deck.

            Jon worked with the dogs while Daenerys made the girls breakfast and waited for Irri to wake up.  Drogon had a stubborn, independent personality that made him a little difficult to work with, but Rhaegal and Viserion were eager to please and all three dogs were smart enough.  When he got both Rhaegal and Viserion to walk with him on leash, he gave the dogs a break and went inside.

            In the kitchen, Irri was talking animatedly over a mostly-gone mug of coffee about her new job while the girls listened.  Missandei reached around him to the security system to put in the code after he shut the door and he slipped around the counter to where Dany stood in the kitchen, leaning on the counter.  He slipped his arms around her middle and whispered in her ear, “It’s time for you to go to bed.”

            Dany sighed and nodded and the next time Irri took a breath between sentences, Dany smiled at her and said, “I think I need a nap, ladies.  I’ll see you later.”

            The girls wished her goodnight and Jon led her upstairs with a hand in hers.  He loved the way her delicate hand felt wrapped in his, the way her narrow fingers fit between his. 

            He loved the way she’d whispered, _I love you, Jon Snow._

            In the bedroom, Jon shut the door and immediately turned to kiss Daenerys.  Her lips were so damn soft and she tasted like tea and those fucking delicious blackberry scones.  He groaned and whispered to her, “Gods, you taste like those amazing scones.”

            Dany laughed and he grinned and kissed her again, tasting her tongue with his, stealing her breath as his hands found her hips and pulled her in close.  She sighed and his blood pressure went up as it always did when she made those noises of pleasure.  He loved the way she sighed and moaned and whimpered when he teased her and fucked her.

            “Come on, love,” he said.  “Let’s get you to bed.”

            Dany smiled crookedly, her violet eyes dark with want.  She walked slowly backwards toward the bed, pulling him along with her hands on his.  He could feel his heart pounding and the blood moving through his body to his cock.  “Love, you need to sleep,” he said, his voice husky and low with longing.  Gods, he wanted to fuck her again, to be inside her as she moaned and cried out, as her muscles tightened around him.

            She let out her lower lip in a pout and he immediately shook his head and pushed her down on the bed.  “Someday, maybe I’ll learn how to say ‘no’ to you,” he groaned, kneeling between her legs to take off his shirt.

            Dany smirked and pulled her shirt over her head too as she said, “I hope not.”  Her breasts were spilling from a black lace bra that he could see right through.  He bent over her and his hands found her breasts, then his mouth was on her chest, kissing and licking and tasting her.  It must have been a perfume she wore that made her smell and taste like vanilla chai, warm and heady and sharp with spice.  She sighed and moaned softly, her head thrown back on the bed as he devoured her.  He kissed and bit at her nipples through the lace and she jerked and gasped under him, her legs wrapping around his body like a vice.  She used her legs to angle her body and grind against him, which was enough to make him jerk and disentangle himself so he could remove his jeans and boxers in one move.  When he bent over her again, she had removed her jeans and was laying there with a smug smile on her face, still wearing that bra and besides it only a black lace thong that matched the bra in its transparency.  “Are you feeling dishonorable?” she asked.

            The images flooding through his brain were threatening to drown him.  His eyes were shifting from her alluring gaze to her beautiful breasts to her cunt just visible through her panties.  “You have no idea,” he mumbled.

            Daenerys grinned and bit her lip, sending what blood remained in his brain elsewhere.  “So, what are you going to do about it?” she asked.

            Jon shook his head in awe at this woman, who was liable to drive him mad before too long.  “I’m going to fuck you so hard you scream my name, and then you pass out cold for the next ten hours.” 

He reached down and rolled her over, then pulled her up onto her hands and knees in front of him.  She moaned at the touch of his cock on her skin and he moved aside her thong as fast as he could.  When he buried himself in her, she was already wet enough that he slid all the way inside, leaving them both gasping and groaning.  He pumped in and out, in and out as she moaned beneath him.  Gods, she felt so good, so warm and wet and tight around him.  A growl slipped from his throat and he pushed into her harder and faster, reaching for and finding her breast and squeezing and pinching it until she cried out and moaned his name.  “Jon…fuck, Jon…oh gods….”

He tried to reign himself in, but soon he was groaning out her name too and teetering on the edge.  “Fuck, Daenerys…”

He didn’t want to come without her, though.  He moved his hand from her breasts down between her legs and teased her clit through the lace of her panties.  Immediately, he felt her muscles clench around his cock and her voice became frantic.  “Fuck, Jon…oh gods…fuck me, Jon…Jon, fuck me…”

He came with her, her seizing muscles milking his release from him as he groaned and she screamed his name into the blankets.  He could see stars and his body went weak so when he released her and landed on his back beside her he felt like he was sinking into the mattress.  Dany moaned and dragged herself to lay across his chest, her cheek on his racing heart.  She didn’t say a word as she drifted off to sleep in his arms, but he could hear those words from last night and feel her breath on his skin as she’d whispered, _I love you, Jon Snow._

           

\------------------

 

            Eventually, Jon slipped from Daenerys’s bed and showered, brushed his teeth, and dressed.  When he returned to the bedroom, she had tangled herself up in a mound of covers and was snoring softly, her head on the pillow and her braids falling loose around her face.  Jon couldn’t help smiling as he looked at her and leaned down to kiss her forehead and whisper, “I love you.”

            He grabbed his gun, snuck out of the bedroom and shut the door behind him, then descended the stairs still smiling.  Ghost waited for him at the base of the staircase, the girls must have let the dogs in at some point, his eyes surprisingly alert for how little sleep he must’ve gotten.  Jon rubbed his head and said, “You’re such a good boy.  You’re going to get a good sleep tonight, don’t worry.”

            He said goodbye to the girls and Irri let him and Ghost out the front door, saying softly to him, “Thank you for taking care of her and for being here for us.  We really do appreciate it.”

            Jon smiled and nodded.  “Of course.  I’m glad to be here.”

            Irri grinned, her dark eyes dancing mischievously.  “I know.”

            Jon sighed.  “That obvious, am I?”

            “Painfully so,” Irri said with a smirk.  “It’s adorable, though.”

            “Thanks,” he said with a snort.  The smile didn’t fade, though, and he waved Irri goodbye with a grin on his face.

            When he got to the station, he and Ghost went straight to the locker room.  He changed into his police blues, holstering his gun, then helped Ghost into his vest.  “Ready to go to work?” Jon asked him.  Ghost sat at attention and Jon hooked on his leash, then they left the locker room behind.  As they walked to the workroom, Arya came in through the back door and raised an eyebrow.  “What are you so smiley about today?”

            “Nothin’,” Jon said, continuing on to his desk, where Ghost sat at attention beside him. 

            Jaime Lannister was passing through the workroom just then and stopped mid-stride to eye Jon.  “No, she’s right, you’re all smiley for once.”  Jaime grinned and raised an eyebrow at Jon.  “Did you get laid?”

            “Sick!  Who was the poor girl?” Arya asked with a smirk.

            Jon shot a glare at her and Jaime leaned in to give him a punch to the shoulder.  “Good for you, Snow.”

            Arya sat on his desk and kicked his chair.  “Come on!  Who was she?”

            Jon groaned.  If he didn’t tell her, she’d hear it soon enough from their mom or Sansa.  “Daenerys Targaryen.”

            “Oooohhh…” Arya said.  “She’s gorgeous.  Is she the one you had a thing for in high school?”

            “Maybe.”

            “Oooohhh…” she said again, grinning like a Cheshire cat.  “At’a boy, Jon Snow.  She’s actually a really cool girl.  I’ve talked to her a couple times about stuff with the House with the Red Door.”

            “Same,” Jaime said as he walked away.  “That woman is made of steel.”

            Jon smiled proudly and said, “Yeah, I was there on Saturday night dropping a girl off.  She opened the door pointing a Kimber 1911 at my face.  I’ve never been so turned on in my life.”

            Arya snorted and left his desk, still grinning.  “Congrats, Jon.  You can now die a happy man.”

            Jon grinned.  “Yes, I can.”

 

\------------------

 

            He and Ghost ended up at the school at three o’clock helping direct traffic, which they seemed to get stuck doing at least twice a week.  He pulled over a couple of after-work speeders later, issued a warning for a busted taillight, and got called out to help Brienne check a car for drugs.  Ghost found ten grams of cocaine and a large bag of weed in the car, earning himself a bone back at the station and earning the driver a ride in the back of Brienne’s squadcar.

            At ten o’clock, he organized the paperwork he hadn’t finished into neat piles on his desk, then hurried to punch out and change clothes.  Normally, he was guilty of staying late after a shift, but tonight he had someone to go home to.

            When he knocked on the red door, his hands were shaking he was so jumped on adrenaline.  Daenerys opened the door wearing slinky blue pajama pants, a tiny blue tank top, and no bra.  She smiled at him as he stared and mindlessly greeted the pits until she finally said, “Would you like to come in, Jon?”

            Jon grinned and stepped through the door, giving her time to shut it behind the dogs before he kissed her hard on the mouth.  “You are such a tease,” he said against her lips.

            “It’s part of my charm.”

            He kissed her again, slipping his tongue between her lips, and tasted the sharp burn of alcohol, along with sweetness and blackberries.  He pulled away, frowning.  “Why do you taste like…is that brandy?  I thought you drank bourbon.”

            Dany bit her lip, trying to hold back a laugh.  “I do.  Come on in, I made scones.”

            Jon had been about to follow her when he stopped midstride and jerked her to a halt with his hand in hers.  “Hold on.  Is _that_ the secret ingredient?  You put brandy in your scones?”

            Dany smirked and shrugged.  “If I told you, then I’d have to kill you.”

            Drogon head-butted him hard in the ass, urging him on into the house, to which Jon couldn’t help laughing and obeying.  They went into the kitchen and the pits followed Dany in a small mob as she transferred four scones onto a plate and brought the plate to the counter, where she sat next to him.  He took a scone…gods, they were still warm…and bit into, paying attention this time.  There was totally brandy in it, that was the extra bit of warmth that filled him to the marrow of his bones.  “You are never going to stop surprising me, are you?” he asked Daenerys.

            She shrugged, smiling.  “As long as you stick around, you’ll never be bored.”

            “I like the sound of that,” he said, leaning in to kiss her slow and warm and deep.  When he at last released her, she said in a breathy voice, “Me too.”

            He about died of joy at that.

            _I love you, Jon Snow._


	8. Fighting Nightmares

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here are the fruits of me being stuck behind four feet of snow! Thank you to everyone for your ever thoughtful and supportive comments. They mean the world to me. Enjoy!

            She watched him fall asleep, her legs tangled in his and her breasts pressed into his chest, her head on his heart.  She could feel the pattern of his scars on her body and felt her stomach churning at the thought of them.  Every time she took the time to think about the scars, she could see in her mind’s eyes the rough rock salt grinding into his open wounds, could feel the water rushing over his face, drowning him, could hear the echoes underwater as he beat at the lid of that box, fighting to break out and breathe.  Another rush of nausea bit into her stomach and she had to squeeze her eyes shut tight to stop the thoughts.

            She couldn’t stop imagining it.  Jon Snow, lying dead in the dirt in Iraq, nameless and forgotten, MIA.  Gods, the way Ghost would have howled if he couldn’t find him, if the team he found had failed to follow him into battle. 

            She tried to distract herself by thinking about things to do with the House.  She was worried about Gilly, who seemed to be fitting in well with the girls, but refused to talk about anything that happened before she came to the House.  Dany had background-checked Sam’s father, but there had been nothing to find and seeing the name had brought up confusing memories.  She could swear that Sam Tarley was the Sam who’d been close friends with Jon and Robb Stark in high school.  That Sam had been as kind and gentle as a bird, sticking to his books and tagging along to the social engagements Robb and Jon insisted he join them at.  And the squeaky-clean background had backed that up, as well as a Google search that turned up Sam Tarley’s MS in Library Science.  What had happened that Gilly didn’t want to share Little Sam with the man he was named after?  How could she have chosen to stay with her abusive father rather than look to Sam for support?  It didn’t make any sense.

            And damn Mo Craznys for all the hell he’d caused last night.  Dany had made her rounds every thirty minutes like clockwork and each time had found poor Missandei awake and crying.  Dany had known about the liquor bottle she’d taken to the face and a few other incidents, but last night was the first she heard about a dog collar Craznys had used to chain M to the bed.  The thought was revolting enough to make Dany’s stomach heave and her blood boil with hate.  As soon as she left M’s room, she sent a text to Sansa she’d found in the morning.  _Ask the police about a dog collar in Craznys’s bedroom.  It’s evidence._

            That bastard was never going to touch another woman again.

            As happy as she was for Irri, she was a little nervous about her working for Petyr Baelish.  Dany had never talked to him directly, but the times when she’d been in the bank and had seen Baelish, his narrow, scheming eyes had raked over her like she was a piece of meat.  The man was sleazy and a lot smarter than other creeps she knew, like Robert Baratheon.  But it was a job and a job of any kind was a huge leap forward for Irri, who’d been at the House for four months struggling to build up the self-confidence to make it through an interview.  Even if this one didn’t work out because Baelish was a creep, it could provide Irri with enough income to move out to her own apartment and get a better job.

            There was a distressed snuffling and Dany slipped out of Jon’s arms to lean over the bed.  Viserion was twitching and kicking in his sleep, his breathing labored.  Very carefully, she reached down to pet his neck.  The white pitbull jerked awake, looking up at her in sudden terror, then recognition and sadness.  “It’s okay, baby,” she murmured, soothing him with her voice.  “You’re okay, you’re here with mama and your brothers.  You’re safe.”

            Rhaegal’s golden eyes snapped open and he looked to Dany and Viserion in concern.  Dany gestured to Rhaegal to come closer and the grey pit did, settling in on the rug with the bulk of his body leaning against Viserion’s.  Dany smiled and Viserion laid his head down, more at peace with his brother close by.

            Dany slipped back under Jon’s arm and when she was back in her spot on his chest, Jon reflexively tightened his arm around her.  She settled in and shut her eyes, remembering the way he’d kissed her, like she was a goddess he was worshipping.  He’d insisted on kissing every inch of her before they did anything else, up and down her arms, all along her back and chest, up and down her legs.  She’d never known such soft kisses on such neglected parts of her body could make her come undone with desire, but when he finally brought his mouth to more sensitive places, she’d crashed through an orgasm like a derailed train.  When he fucked her afterwards, her legs had been useless, but biting at his shoulder and sucking on and tonguing one of his fingers like she was tasting his cock was enough to send him over the edge, coming inside her with a growl like a wolf.

            She wondered if she should be concerned about that.  She hadn’t used birth control since she and Drogo started trying for Rhaego.  The idea of going back to it had been so painful when she’d been told hours after her miscarriage that she’d never get pregnant again.  Surely it wasn’t worth worrying about?

            But what if somehow it did happen?  What if it happened and she miscarried _again_?

            She couldn’t bear it.  She would die of heartbreak.

            She should call the doctor tomorrow.  She’d get a second opinion on her chances of bearing a child and when the worst was confirmed, that she could get pregnant but not carry a child to term, she’d go back on the pill just in case.  There would be no more miscarriages.

            Jon’s body tensed underneath her and she tensed too, wondering if she’d twitched somehow and made him uncomfortable.  When she looked to his face, though, deep lines crossed it and his brows were low over his squeezed-shut eyes.  His arm constricted around her, his fingertips digging into her side.  Very slowly, carefully, she slid up his body and kissed his cheek.  “Jon…” she murmured.  “Jon, wake up…”

            He awoke with a start and was reaching for his gun before she could blink.  Acting fast, she reached over him and pinned his arm to the bed, then made him look her in the eyes.  “Jon…look at me, Jon.  It’s me.  It’s Dany.”

            Jon’s grey eyes were wide, his pupils dilated black taking up most of his irises.  He was breathing so hard he was lifting her a good two inches with each gasping breath and a cold sweat had broken out over his body.  “Dany,” he gasped, shutting his eyes tightly and shaking his head, as if to dispel the nightmare.  “Sorry, love.  I hope I didn’t scare you.”

            “I’m fine, just relax.  Here, sit up, let me turn on the light.”  She eased off of him and reached to turn on the bedside lamp.  Jon eased himself up to a sitting position against the bars of her bedframe, still rubbing his eyes and shaking his head.  He didn’t seem to be breathing normally, the air rushing in and out of his lungs at irregular intervals.  She’d had panic attacks for the months after losing Rhaego and this reminded her uncomfortably of that.  Dany put two fingers to her mouth and whistled.  A moment later, she heard the clatter of toenails on hardwood, then on metal stairs.  She touched Jon’s hair on her way out of bed and crossed to the door naked, letting Ghost in.  Ghost leapt up on the bed without a second’s thought, attracting the attention of the pits, who stayed down on the rug at Dany’s command.  Ghost laid across Jon’s legs, licking at his hands with worry in his dark eyes.  Dany knelt on the bed beside them and slowly ran her hand through Jon’s curls, pulling them back from his face and arranging them so they laid somewhat straight back along his scalp.  Then, she kissed his cheek soft and slow, then his temple. 

            “Thank you…Dany,” Jon groaned softly, his breath becoming more even.

            “Of course,” she whispered.  She had questions, but she didn’t ask them.  She knew the dream had been about Iraq and she wasn’t about to press him for details he didn’t want to give up.  Instead, she shifted to sit beside him with her head on his chest again.  He wrapped his arm around her, his fingers trailing along her ribcage.

            She forced herself to stay awake until she felt him drift off again, but once he did she slipped right under with him.

           

\------------------

 

            The next morning, she showered, dressed, did up her braids, and slipped out of the bedroom without disturbing Jon or Ghost, who watched her but faithfully stayed sprawled over his best friend’s legs.  The pits followed her in their usually ruckus, and she heard movement on the other side of Gilly’s door as she passed room four.  She let the dogs out, started the coffeepot and the tea kettle, then set out the leftover scones and started cooking.  After a moment’s thought, she decided to make today a waffle day and started mixing the batter.  Drogon arrived back at the patio door within minutes, so she let the doors back in and watched them scurry into the kitchen, smelling for breakfast, as she keyed in the security code.  Drogon sat by the stove staring at her, tapping his big paws on the floor impatiently.  Dany rolled her eyes at the display, but went into the laundry room to fill their breakfast bowls.

            With the pits occupied for now, Dany returned to her waffle batter and was mixing it when a bleary-eyed Gilly and Sam arrived in the kitchen still in their pajamas.  “Good morning,” she said.

            “Good morning,” Gilly moaned.  “Sam kept me up half the night fussing.  I felt asleep napping with him yesterday afternoon and he was down too long.”

            “Aww,” Dany said, her brows creasing in sympathy.  “Well, the coffee and tea are almost ready.  Maybe some caffeine will help.”

            “Mmm…definitely.”

            Dany plugged in the waffle iron and sprinkled her secret ingredient into the waffle batter, a dash of cinnamon.  She finished mixing the batter, then made to retrieve the butter and syrup from the fridge.  Watching Gilly out of the corner of her eye, Dany frowned, remembering her train of thought last night about Sam Tarley.  “Gilly, can I ask you something?”

            Gilly met her gaze, her eyes suddenly wide-awake and nervous.

            Dany swallowed hard, but pushed on.  “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but it’s about Sam’s father.”

            Gilly exhaled and seemed to melt a little, focusing her gaze on Little Sam.  “Did Jon put you up to this?”

            “No,” Dany said with a deep frown.  “Sam’s dad is Sam Tarley, Jon’s friend, right?”

            The girl nodded wearily.  “He is.”

            “Does he know?”

            Gilly shook her head ‘no.’  “We had just broken up when I found out.  He was going to study in Oldtown for his Master’s and I didn’t want to do the long-distance thing or jeopardize him getting his degree.  He wanted it so bad.  When I found out I was pregnant, I thought about contacting him, but I had deleted his number to try and convince myself not to call him.  I had to go to his parents…his dad said a w-w-whore like me had no b-business ruining his son’s life with my bastard child.”

            Dany’s jaw dropped and she went to Gilly, taking her hands.  The girl didn’t meet her eyes, but Dany could tell she was on the verge of tears.  “Oh Gilly, I’m so sorry, honey.  What a crotchety old jackass to treat you like that.  I’m so sorry.”

            “It’s okay.  It was a long time ago.  I wish Sam had had a choice, though.  I didn’t know how to get ahold of him anymore and as things got further along, I wouldn’t have known what to say anyway.”

            Dany rubbed Gilly’s shaking hands and said softly, “Gilly…Sam lives here in town now.  He’s the research librarian at Winterfell Tech.”

            Gilly met her gaze with red-rimmed eyes.  “Really?”

            Dany nodded.  “Yes.  I run background checks on everybody when they come through the House and when I dug around looking for Sam I found a home address in Winterfell and his name on the staff list at Winterfell Technical College.”

            Gilly blinked, stunned for a moment.  When she began to recover, she frowned and shook her head, shutting her eyes.  “Oh Dany, I’m a wreck.  I don’t take care of myself, I look like hell, I’m still covered in bruises, I haven’t found a bra that fits properly since I had Sam, and I’m homeless and jobless.  Even if I had the guts to see him, who’s to say he would forgive me for keeping Little Sam away?  Who’s to say he would want me as I am now?  I’m better off keeping to myself.”

            A piece of Dany’s heart shattered in her chest, leaving a bleeding hole.  She clutched Gilly’s hands and shook her head.  “Gilly, no.  You can’t think like that.  This is your home right now and when you’re ready, you and Little Sam will have your own home.  Maybe you were a wreck on Saturday night, but you’ve already come so far since then.  You’ve gotten away from your dad and you’re going to testify against him.  You’ve made friends with the girls.  Look, I remember Sam being a really good guy, an honorable guy.  Am I right?”  Gilly nodded stiffly.  “I bet he’d be furious to know that you and Little Sam are here when he could be helping you.  He’s not going to care that you stopped highlighting your hair or that your Christmas present needs to be a Victoria’s Secret giftcard.”  Gilly snorted and Dany smiled.  “He’s going to care that he has a chance to make it up to the girl who got away and a chance to be a dad.”

            Gilly nodded, her hands still shaking.  “Maybe you’re right.  I just don’t know, Dany.  I’m so scared.”

            “I know you are,” Dany said softly.  “And that’s okay.  Maybe it’ll take some time.  But, I want you to think about this and if you decide you want to try reaching out to Sam, let me know.  I can ask Jon to arrange a meeting so I can be there for you when it happens.  I can keep you from backing out, keep your courage up, that kind of thing.”

            “And keep me from going off the deep-end if things don’t go well,” Gilly finished.

            Dany squeezed her hands reassuringly.  “That’s not going to happen, but it’ll make you feel better if I’m there in case it happens.”

            Gilly grimaced.  “I suppose.  I’ll think about it.”

            Dany released her hands and stood, returning to her task at the waffle iron.

            “Dany?”  She turned back to meet Gilly’s eyes.  “Thank you.”

            Dany smiled.  “Of course.”

            Her phone rang in her back pocket and Dany carefully poured the batter into the iron, then answered the phone as she shut the lid.  “Hello?”

            “Dany, it’s Sansa.  We’ve got him.”

            Dany froze stock-still.  “What?”

            “Craznys.  I got a warrant from Judge Tyrell to look for that collar.  The police found it, still chained to that sick bastard’s bed, with M’s blood on it.”

            “Blood?  On a collar?”

            “It was a choke collar.”

            Dany’s stomach heaved and she had to lean on the counter for support to regain control.  “Oh my gods.”

            “What matters now is that that collar can be submitted as evidence of rape, torture, and attempted murder.”

            Dany took a shaky breath and nodded.  “Good.  Is there anything we can do in the meantime?  He hasn’t called again, but the girls are really shaken up.”

            “I can get a restraining order for you or M if you appear in court.  It doesn’t physically keep him away, obviously, but it’s another thing we can charge him with if he breaks it.”

            Dany shut her eyes in disappointment.  “I’d rather only put M through court once.  If I get one, though, that covers the whole house when I’m here.”

            “Yep.  Want me to set an appointment?  I might be able to get Judge Tyrell to fit you in tomorrow.  I can deliver the restraining order to Craznys that afternoon.”

            “Yeah, any time tomorrow is fine.  Thank you, Sansa.”

            “No problem.  I was talking with Gilly yesterday about her case and she mentioned something…is Jon staying with you?”

            Dany turned to eye Gilly with a raised eyebrow.  “She said that, huh?  Yeah, he is staying here.  He was here when Craznys called and volunteered to be the House’s bodyguard.”  Gilly shrank slightly, but shrugged and half-smiled after a moment.

            She could practically hear Sansa rolling her eyes.  “He has it so bad for you it’s not even funny.”

            Her cheeks burned and a grin she couldn’t stop slid across her face.  The waffle iron beeped and she removed the waffle and poured more batter.  “I think it’s sweet.  And he assured me it was to make all the girls feel safer, that I was perfectly capable on my own.”

            “Good boy.  Jeez…you guys are so cute it’s nauseating.”

            “Thank you, I think?”

            “Love you, darling.  I’ll text you when I have your appointment time.”

            “Thanks, Sansa.  Love you too.”

            Missandei entered the kitchen then, smiling at Little Sam and tickling him when she sat beside Gilly.  “Good morning,” she said.

            “Good morning,” Dany answered.  “Who wants the first waffle?”

            “Sam and I were here first,” Gilly said, accepting the plate when Dany slid it to her.  A few moments later, Dany flipped the second waffle onto a plate for Missandei and reset the iron.  When she brought the plate over, she took Missandei’s hand and said gently, “Sansa made some progress.”

            Missandei met her eyes nervously.  “She did?”

            Dany nodded.  “That thing you told me about the other night?  Sansa was able to get it…it was still there.”  Missandei’s eyes went wide.  When she fell speechless, Dany continued, “We’re going to submit it as evidence.  He’s not getting out of that.  And in the meantime, tomorrow I’m going to go get a restraining order.  That way, if he’s dumb enough to come near the House, he’ll get slapped with another charge.”

            Missandei blinked and shook her head for a moment, then her eyes began to water with tears.  “He’s really going to go away.”

            Dany nodded, smiling.  “Yeah.  He’s going to go away for a long time.”

            Missandei slipped her hand free to grab Dany and hug her hard.  Dany shut her eyes and hugged her back, breathing in the feeling of impending triumph.  In less than three weeks, Missandei would be free and it was because of her.

            By the time Dany finished her waffle, Irri and Jon still hadn’t made appearances, so she retreated to the laundry room to call the doctor’s office.  The doctor she normally saw couldn’t fit her in until late September, but there was a new doctor that had some openings for next week.  Dany hesitated, but accepted the appointment for next Monday, praying that she wouldn’t regret it.  It had been so hard to find an OB/GYN she could almost feel comfortable with.  Hopefully this one would be tolerable and somewhat intelligent.

            When she emerged from the laundry room, she found Jon on the kitchen floor being mauled by dogs while Missandei and Gilly looked on with smirks and laughter.  Dany’s entrance distracted Drogon, who dove into her legs and nearly knocked her over.  Jon looked up and when he met her eyes, she felt the weight in them.  His smile faded to be replaced by a forced one.

            She stretched out a hand to help him up and he took it.  “Do you want a waffle?”

            He snorted.  “Is that a trick question?”

            She made him one and watched while he made faces at Little Sam, earning giggles and smiles.  When he tickled Little Sam and smiled at his laughter, she saw a warmth in his eyes that up until then she’d only seen a few times.  Her stomach wrenched as if to slam the point home and she laid her hand over her seizing muscles to help hold herself together.  The waffle iron beeped and she took a deep breath, then used it to drown the pain.

            Later, she caught Jon alone outside with the dogs and he gave her another not-quite-real smile.  “Are you okay?” she asked him.

            He nodded stiffly, but it took him a long moment to find words.  When he did, his voice was rough and so low it was hard to hear.  “Thank you for last night, Dany.”

            Dany blinked.  “You mean the nightmare?  Of course.  You don’t have to thank me for that.”

            Jon took her hand in his and stared down at it as he traced patterns on her knuckles.  “I don’t know if you…realized…when I woke like that I was having a panic attack.”

            Her brow creased in sadness and she could feel her heart pounding, bleeding for him.  It had been awhile since she’d had a panic attack, but she still remembered that feeling of her chest caving in, her ribs aching and being pressed into her lungs, her throat clenching as she fought for air.  It made her sick to know that he had them too, cool, collected, strong Jon.  “I know.  I used to have them.”

            He met her eyes sharply.  “That’s how you knew…”

            She nodded.  “To turn on the light and call Ghost.  Where were you?”

            Jon looked away again and said bitterly, “Where I always am.  In that fucking box.”

            Dany reached up and laid a hand on the side of his face, turning it to face her.  “So, get out of it,” she said firmly.  “You said so yourself the other night.  You’re not there anymore and you’re never going back.”

            “Dany…”

            “No.”  Now she clasped his face between both her hands and looked him in the eye.  “You’re here with me now and you’re not going anywhere.”

            He stared down at her for a moment, his grey eyes molten with sadness.  Then, he bent and kissed her, his lips warm and soft and gentle on hers.  Her hands slid to his shoulders and that was what kept her from stumbling when his tongue found hers.  When he teased her tongue with just the tip of his, slow and barely-there, she gasped his name against his mouth, “Jon!”

            She could feel his smile against her lips and he whispered to her, “There’s something I want to do with you today.”

            “Does it involve my bed?”

            He chuckled.  “No, but that may happen too.  It involves your gun.”

 

\------------------

 

            “Relax your grip a little.  This one isn’t going to have as much kick,” Jon said, just audible through the underwater sound of her headphones.  She adjusted her grip on the M&P as he suggested and shot off a round.  The feeling of the slight kick, of the bullet leaving the chamber, brought a smile to her face and she let off a few more rounds, getting a feel for the gun, the way her eyes lined up with it, the way the kickback affected her aim.  It took a few shots, but then for the rest of the magazine she had it.  It took the next eight rounds to shoot out the bullseye, but she did it.  When she hit the end of the mag, she turned to find Jon shaking his head at her, his eyes dark with lust and an admiring smile on his face.  “Okay, so where did you learn to shoot?  I made allowances for your Kimber, but you don’t know this gun.  I’m not letting you call that beginner’s luck.”

            Dany smirked and shrugged.  “It was the only thing my dad and I had in common.  He would take Rhaegar and I to the range.  Sometimes Viserys, but he wasn’t very good and would get pettish about it, so he stopped coming with us.”

            Jon laughed and shook his head again, then threw his arm around her shoulders to pull her in for a lazy kiss.  “You have no idea how sexy you are right now, do you?” he murmured.

            Dany laughed and pulled him between the dividers with her, away from the prying eyes of the few other shooters around.  She slid her hand down his front, watching his lips part and his eyes darken to black when her hand found the hardness at the front of his jeans.  “Is that your gun?  Or are you just happy to see me?”

            Jon took her hand front the front of his jeans and brought it to his mouth to kiss her palm, teasing at her life lines with his tongue.  When she started to squirm, he released her and grinned.  “What?  That’s what you get for being such a tease.”

            Dany gestured downrange.  “Then let off some frustration.  Your turn, Snow.”  He shook his head, but drew his gun from his waistband and moved to the table to load it with massive bullets.  “What is that?”

            “Taurus 24/7 .45 ACP OSS.”

            “You say that with love.”

            Jon shot a grin at her.  “It’s kind of my baby.  You ready?  It’s loud.”

            Dany backed up to avoid any of those huge shells that might kick back, then nodded.

            It was loud, but despite the kickback, Jon held it solidly, the muscles in his hands and arms working overtime to keep the gun in check.  He shot out the four spots where the crosshairs on the target crossed the perimeter of the circle, then shot a circle around the bullseye she’d shot out that left the inside of the target hanging by a thread.  He was right.  He looked sexy as all fuck holding that gun with all that power and control, firing it off with the speed and accuracy to easily knock down any asshole that tried to break into the House.  When the thirteenth round was spent and Jon unloaded the empty magazine, Dany stepped up behind him and wrapped her arms around him to lay her hands on his hips.  There was a heat and heaviness pooling between her legs, a raw need for him that she could hardly help submitting to.  She slid her hands into his front pockets, teasing at the hard muscle of his thighs as she murmured, “You’re right.  It is sexy as all fuck watching you shoot.”

            Jon laughed and set down the gun so he could lay his hands on hers.  “So, what are you saying?”

            “I’m saying I’m planning what I’m going to do to you when we get back out to the truck.”

            Jon eyed her over his shoulder, a crooked grin in the curve of his mouth.  “Yeah?”

            She slid her hands deeper into his pockets and nodded.  “Yeah.”

            He laughed softly, then asked, “So, do you want to keep shooting or get out of here?”

            “Hmm…just a little longer.”

            They each took a few more turns.  Dany tried out Jon’s Taurus once, but handed it back to him after a few rounds that nearly shattered her wrist.  Jon fell in love with her Kimber and kept teasing her asking what she’d sell it for.  When they returned the M&P to the desk and left the range, Jon slipped his hand into her back pocket and they walked out of the range like that.  She kept remembering the way he’d looked firing that gun and it made her squirm on the inside with wanting him.

            They got to Jon’s truck and he opened the passenger door for her.  She climbed up into the F150 and was waiting for him when he got in the driver’s side.  No sooner had he shut the door than she was on him, her mouth dominating his, her hands on his chest, his hips, his thighs.  He kissed her back with the same hunger and when she reached down to undo his belt, he broke away to look around them.  “Love, we’re in the middle of the parking lot.  At least let me move the truck.”

            “If you want,” she said teasingly, focused entirely on unzipping his jeans and freeing his cock.  “But no inattentive driving, Officer Snow.  Keep your eyes on the road.”  With that hanging in the air, she kissed the head of his rock-hard cock, drinking in the pre-come that he was already spilling.  She heard Jon’s hands hit the doorframe and the back of the seat when she closed her lips over his head and wrapped her hand around him.

            “Fucking hell, Dany…” he groaned.

            “What’s the matter, Officer Snow?  Feeling distracted?”  She drew a line up the underside of his cock with the tip of her tongue and his hands found the back of her head, his fingers hooking into her braids.

            “Fuck, Daenerys…gods…”

            She took him all the way into her mouth then, sucking hard every time she pulled back, then taking him in deeper each time until he was at her throat.  She forced herself to relax and opened her throat to hold back any gag reflex as he gently pushed her down on him, then let her pull back, sucking on him the whole way.

            “Oh fuck…Dany…fuck me…”

            She took him in faster then, faster and deeper, pushing her limits until he was shaking under her.  Then he grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her off him.  “Come here, love,” he groaned.  “I want to come inside you.”

            She let him pull her onto his lap, her back to him, then let him unzip her jeans and push them to her knees.  It only took moments for him to guide his cock around her thong and then he was inside her, groaning and growling with each thrust.  Her eyes snapped shut in ecstasy, letting him pound all thought right from her mind until there was nothing left but his hands on her, his mouth on the back of her neck, his cock inside her, burying itself deeper and deeper.  When he slid his hand down between her thighs and teased at her over her thong, her vision went white and she came hard and fast with the sounds of his growls in her ear.

            When he released her, they laughed together and he helped her dress.  When they were both decent and in their respective seats, Jon laughed and said, “I need to take you to the range more often.”


	9. Matchmaking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The response to the last chapter floored me! Thank you all for the kind, lengthy comments! They give me all kinds of ideas and motivation and I really appreciate it so much! I received a request for the recipe for Dany's scones, so it's at the end of this chapter if you're interested. If it didn't become obvious in chapter seven, the secret ingredient is in fact brandy, because alcohol makes everything taste better.
> 
> Here's to my third day snowed in! Enjoy.

            Sansa did end up securing Dany an audience with Judge Tyrell and that was where she was on Friday morning, standing in court wearing her best blazer, slacks, and pumps, all in black.  Her braids were done up intricately on the back of her head, and she had her hands clasped in front of her.  She felt the control and adrenaline rippling through her nerves and she held onto them, let them fill her with power and resolve.

            Judge Tyrell was an older woman, the age of a grandmother, but from the previous case that Dany had watched, she didn’t take an ounce of shit.  The key to winning this judge was to take as little shit, to speak the facts and get things done.

            “Daenerys Targaryen.  Step forward,” the judge barked.

            Dany stepped up to the railing and stood before the judge, feet apart, like she owned the world she stood on.

            “You’re here to petition the court for a restraining order against Mr. Mo Craznys who resides at 118 Mulberry Court, is that correct?”

            “Yes, Your Honor,” Dany said firmly.

            The judge raised an eyebrow at her.  “And what are your reasons for requesting this restraining order?”

            Dany cleared her throat.  “I am the owner and operator of the House with the Red Door in Winterfell, Your Honor.”

            “Yes, I know of the House.  Your friend Ms. Stark speaks highly of it.  What of it?”

            “Mo Craznys is the ex-boyfriend of on of my housemates, Missandei Naath.  He was physically abusive and I have my record of her condition when she came to the House, including photographs, to prove it.  He smashed her face with a liquor bottle.”

            Judge Tyrell bristled.  “And what threat does he pose to you?”

            “We have a court date two and a half weeks from now where Mo Craznys will hopefully face justice for his treatment of Missandei, but three nights ago, Craznys called me and threatened my safety and the safety of the entire House if the charges weren’t dropped.  I am seeking this restraining order to discourage him from attempting to break into the House before his trial.”

            Judge Tyrell eyed her shrewdly for a long moment.  “You say ‘attempt to break in.’”

            Dany blinked, but stood her ground.  “I do, Your Honor.  We have a security system and several large dogs to deter him, but I fear he may be foolish enough to try and could in the process hurt me, my dogs, or one of the women who came to me for protection.  We also currently have a two-year-old in the House.”

            “Bah!” Judge Tyrell snapped with a scowl.  “You have your restraining order, Ms. Targaryen, and you have my best wishes for your trial in the coming weeks.  I would also remind you that Castle Law gives you the right to shoot and kill any intruder on your property who threatens you or others in your house with bodily harm.  Case dismissed.”  The crack of the gavel felt like it shattered Dany’s careful armor and she breathed a deep sigh of relief.

            As she left the courtroom, she found Sansa waiting for her at the doors, red hair shining in the light, looking every inch the lawyer in her smart ¾ sleeve blazer and pencil skirt.  She smiled at Dany and reached out to squeeze her hand as they exited the courtroom together.  “Nice job,” Sansa said.  “Most people get intimidated by Judge Tyrell.”

            “She’s tough, but I can work with that.  I’m tough too.”

            Sansa grinned.  “Yes, you are.  I’ll deliver the restraining order on my way home this afternoon.  Do you want to get lunch quick?”

            “Sure.  I’ll buy.  I owe you one for getting me this appointment.”

            They found a Thai restaurant near the courthouse and stopped there.  They talked about Missandei’s case over their pad thai, then Gilly’s.  Craster had failed to post bail, so he was mercifully still in lockup.  Sansa had gotten a court date scheduled for just under two months out.

            “I was talking to Gilly yesterday,” Dany said, frowning.  “Sam’s dad is in Winterfell and is a really good guy.”

            Sansa raised an eyebrow at her.  “Then what’s she doing at the House if she has somewhere she can go?  I only ended up there because my parents and Rickon were in Thailand on that mission trip.”

            Dany sighed.  “Sam Sr. doesn’t know he’s a dad.  She told me this awful story about how she found out she was pregnant after they’d broken up and he’d left town to get his Master’s.  She didn’t have a way to contact him and his father was a jackass about it and scared her into going back home to Craster.”

            Sansa’s face scrunched up like she’d sucked on a lemon. “What a jerk.  So, did you tell Gilly she needs to talk to Sam Sr.?”

            “I did.  I suggested Jon could arrange something…he’s Sam’s best friend.”

            “And the web gets ever more twisted,” Sansa said drily.  “Are you sure Jon hasn’t talked to Sam about it already?”

            “I’ll ask him, but I doubt he would.  He’s legally obligated to keep the girls’ identities secret and he knows that.”

            “I’ve found that Jon is generally more loyal to his loved ones than to the rules.”

            Dany grinned.  “Sounds like a lousy cop.  He did pull me over for speeding and then not give me a ticket.”

            Sansa laughed hard, snorting into her iced tea.  “Oh my gods, I haven’t heard this story.  He pulled you over?”

            Dany nodded, grimacing.  “Yeah.  Last week after you and I met at The Imp’s Delight.”

            “Ha!  What did he say?”

            “He was surprised to see me, but we made small talk and stuff and he said I wasn’t getting a ticket but that I owed him one.”

            Sansa waggled her eyebrows.  “I assume I don’t want to know how you repaid him.”

            Dany blushed red-hot, but shook her head.  “Actually, I haven’t officially repaid him yet.”

            “You know,” Sansa said, “He didn’t mention that story to me or anyone as far as I know.  He’s keeping you to himself.”

            Dany raised an eyebrow.  “Should I be worried the he doesn’t talk about me much?”

            Sansa smiled widely, her blue eyes sparkling.  “No.  Jon keeps things to himself, especially things that really matter.  It’s a big deal that he told you about Iraq and that he doesn’t talk about you much.  It means you’re special.”

            A ball of warmth expanded in Dany’s chest and she flushed again, unable to hold back a smile.

 

\------------------

 

            When she got back to the House, the pits were waiting at the front door, barking and howling and carrying on.  She got in the house, put in the security code, and kicked off her shoes, then bent down to let the dogs lick her face and hands.  “Yes, I missed you too, babies!  Yes, I missed you!  Yes, I love you.”  Viserion rubbed his head into her belly and she took him by his big, blocky head and kissed his forehead, then his ears.  He rubbed his face into hers and her heart melted as she hugged him.  “I love you too, baby.  Mama loves you, stumpy ears and all.”

            It took several minutes to make it to the kitchen to put on a kettle for tea.  It was there that she found Gilly washing dishes while Sam played on the floor with his cow and sheep toys.  “Hey,” she said.  “How was court?”

            “It was fine,” Dany said.  “I was nervous for no reason.  I got the restraining order and I’m crossing my fingers that we get the same judge for Craznys’s trial.  I’ve got a feeling she wouldn’t mind seeing him get the chair.”

            Gilly chuckled.  “If only.”

            “If only,” Dany agreed.  She found her English Breakfast and dropped two teabags into her pot.

            “Hey, Dany?”

            “Yeah?”  She turned to Gilly, who had stopped washing dishes and was no kneading her hands nervously.

            “I thought about what you said yesterday…about Sam.”

            She tried to keep her expression impassive, to not be too happy about this.  Gilly deserved the best and Sam could give it to her, but she had to make that choice herself.  “You did?”

            Gilly nodded, refusing to look at her.  “I did.  And I think…I’d like to see…Sam.  And talk to him.”

            Dany nodded severely, singing on the inside.  “Okay.  If you want I can have Jon arrange a double date.  If you decide you’re not comfortable, you and I can bail.”

            Gilly nodded again, finally meeting her eyes nervously.  “Yeah.  That would work.”

            Dany thought over Jon’s schedule.  It was a weird floating schedule, but she knew he was on day shift today and off on Sunday.  She hesitated at the idea of pushing Gilly and having her balk, but it was worth a shot.  “Well, I know Jon is free tonight and on Sunday.  Or do you want some time to prepare?”

            Gilly’s eyes went wide for a moment, but then she swallowed her nerves and shook her head.  “No, I think I’d rather get it over with.  That is if I can get to the thrift shop today.  I don’t exactly have any date night clothes.  And I’d have to figure out what to do with Little Sam.”

            “I’ll babysit!” Missandei called from the living room.

            Dany jumped and turned sharply to glare at Missandei.  “You were eavesdropping and didn’t even have the courtesy to say hello?” she teased.

            Missandei covered her mouth with a hand to smother her smile.  “Congrats on the restraining order, Dany.  Thank you.”

            “You’re welcome.  You’re totally babysitting now.”  Dany rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help smiling as she turned to Gilly.  “I’ll text Jon and see what he can do.  Let me get changed and then we’ll go to the thrift shop.”

            “Thank you, Dany,” Gilly said, sighing in relief at having one worry set aside.

            The kettle whistled and Dany poured it over her tea, then snatched her phone out of her back pocket.  _I have a favor to ask._

            To her surprise, Jon responded immediately.  _Jon:  Anything, love._

A silly smile stretched across her face.  _Did you know that your friend Sam Tarley is Little Sam’s dad?_

_Jon:  I had a suspicion._

_Dany:  Gilly never told him and she’d like to remedy that.  Any chance you can arrange a double-date for tonight?_

_Jon:  I would love to.  It was making me sick not saying something to him.  I know he’ll be very happy to see her._

_Dany:  Good.  Let me know what you come up with._

_Jon:  Should be easy.  Sam never goes out without me there to make him.  I’ll see what I can do._

_Dany:  Thank you.  And tsk tsk for texting on duty!_

_Jon:  Friday afternoons are always paperwork time.  Thank you for helping me procrastinate.  ;)_

_Dany:  Lol!  Glad I could help._

            “Jon says tonight should be no problem,” Dany said to Gilly.  “Apparently Sam doesn’t go out much.”

            Gilly smiled just barely.  “That sounds like him.  I had to plan all our dates myself because he was so nervous.”

            “Well, Jon’s planning this one.  All you have to worry about is primping.”

            That got a small laugh from Gilly and she smirked at Dany.  “If Jon’s planning it, I’ll expect cheesy sweetness.”

            “Hey!” Dany protested, unable to stop the grin that crossed her face.  “Yesterday he took me to the shooting range, which was very hot and not cheesy at all!  I’m going to change.  Get ready for our thrift shop adventure.”

 

\------------------

 

            They ended up finding Gilly a flowing green blouse that turned her hazel eyes green and looking lovely on her.  Dany also splurged and bought her a pair of ballet flats so she could wear something other than tennis shoes.

            When they got home, Missandei insisted on helping Gilly curl her hair and do her makeup while Dany rifled through her closet.  It took awhile, but she finally found a white surplice top that fit her well and provided just the right amount more cleavage than she usually exposed.  She hoped it would be enough to surprise and distract Jon.  She also found a pair of silver heels that she hadn’t worn in ages and a silver dragon pin that she put in her braids.

            Jon had arranged their date to occur at The Imp’s Delight and was picking up Sam so that he’d have no chance to back out.  Apparently, he hadn’t dated anyone since Gilly and was terribly nervous.  Gilly was so nervous she had a minor panic attack right before they left and it took twenty minutes for Dany to talk her down.  Luckily, they were planning on being there early and thus didn’t end up being late.

            Dany and Gilly walked into The Imp’s Delight together and looked around the tables and booths for Jon and Sam.  “They should have beat us here…” Dany mused just before her eyes caught Jon’s head of black curls.  “Oh, there they are.  Back corner.”  It was a good spot, reasonably private and quiet in the echoing winery.  Gilly looked faintly green, so Dany took her hand and walked her through the room slowly.  “It’s going to be okay.  There hasn’t been anyone but you, you’re the one that got away.  He’s going to be so surprised and happy to see you.”

            They reached the table and Dany put a hand on Jon’s shoulder, causing him to turn, grinning and wrap an arm around her waist.  Sam turned to look too and Dany watched his face turn to stone and then fade to grey at the sight of Gilly.  It was a long moment before in a froggy voice, he choked out her name, “Gilly.”

            “Sam,” she murmured, also choking on her tongue.

            Sam managed to shut his mouth, which had been hanging open, and looked to Jon quickly before looking back to Gilly.  His eyes moved over her like he was trying to memorize the way she looked in case she disappeared.  “You look…good.  Amazing.  You look amazing.  How…how have you been?”

            Gilly swallowed hard.  “You look good too.  I’ve been…okay.  Honestly, it’s been…a little…rough.”

            Sam nodded, a crease forming between his brows.  “I’m sorry to hear that.”

            Gilly’s jaw worked for a moment, then she managed to ask, “How have you been?  You got your Master’s?”

            He nodded tersely.  “I did.  I’m a research librarian at the Tech now.”  He seemed to choke for a moment, then stood abruptly to pull out the chair beside him for Gilly.  “Please.  Sit.”

            She sat and Dany sat too when Jon pulled out her chair with a smirk.  When the girls were both sitting, Jon waved over a waitress and looked to Dany.  “Merlot?”

            She smirked at how quickly he was getting to know her and nodded, then looked to the waitress.  “Merlot would be lovely.”

            The waitress looked to Gilly, who appeared to be in no fit state to drink alcohol, but bravely ordered a pinot noir.  “H-how was grad school?” Gilly forced herself to ask.  “Did you enjoy it?”

            “Parts of it,” Sam answered.  Dany could see his wineglass shaking in his hand from across the table.  “The professors were great.  And I had plenty of work to keep my mind busy.”

            Dany and Jon had to work a little to keep the conversation rolling with how nervous both Gilly and Sam were.  Poor Gilly was tripping over herself trying not to mention Little Sam.  Finally, Dany reached out to take Gilly’s hand and squeeze it, locking her eyes.  After a moment, Gilly nodded, then said, “Sam…there is something I wanted to talk to you about.”

            Sam froze, wineglass halfway to his mouth.  He set it down with a clatter.  “Sure.  What is it?”

            Gilly swallowed hard, steeling herself, and Dany squeezed her hand again in support.  “Well, I…I have a…I have a s-s-son.”

            Sam blinked and stopped breathing for a moment.  “A…son?”

            Gilly nodded and Dany squeezed her hand again when she recognized the tears building in her eyes.  “Yeah.  That’s mostly what I’ve been up to is taking care of him.”

            “H-h-ow…how old…how old is he?” Sam choked out.

            Gilly gritted her teeth to build her courage, then met Sam’s eyes as she said, “He’s two.  His name is Sam.”

            Sam’s jaw dropped and he just sat there in shock for a moment.  When he managed to shut his mouth, Dany saw tears building in his eyes now and he wiped at them with shaking hands.  “W-what?  Why didn’t you tell me?  I would’ve come h-h-home.  I w-w-would’ve helped you.  You went home to that old b-b-bastard rather than call me?”

            Gilly’s tears leaked from her eyes, but she didn’t look away from Sam to wipe them.  “I didn’t want to distract you or hurt you, so I deleted your number.  Then, I found out I was pregnant and I didn’t have a way to get ahold of you.  I t-t-tried t-talking to your p-parents, but…”

            Sam growled, his hands tightening to fists before he buried them beneath the table.  “But my jackass father told you not to bother.”

            Gilly nodded stiffly, finally looking away to wipe her eyes.

            “I’d like to meet him,” Sam said.  “I really would.  And I’d like to help you, Gilly, even if you don’t…want to be with me.  I’d like to help.”

            Gilly met his eyes sharply then and her eyes went red with tears.  “Oh, Sam.  I’d like you to meet him too.  And I…I wouldn’t mind trying again…with us, I mean.”

            Sam looked ready to melt into a puddle.  “Really?”

            She nodded and he smiled so wide and so warm that it made Gilly’s tears fall.  Sam reached for her hands and Dany released her so he could hold both of them.  “Oh Gilly, thank you.  Thank you.  I promise, I won’t screw this up.  I swear.”

            Gilly chuckled once.  “Oh, Sam, you could never.  You’re so sweet.”

            Sam smiled.  “Where are you living right now?  I’d like to come over sometime and see him.  You’re not still at home, are you?”

            Dany stiffened and Gilly turned to ice, then with a grimace, she admitted, “No, I’m not at home anymore.”

            Sam frowned, tightening his grip on her hands.  “Well, where are you, then?”

            Gilly shut her eyes.  “I’m staying with Dany.”

            Sam’s eyes snapped to Dany’s and she saw the recognition in there.  Sam’s jaw turned to iron and he looked back to Gilly, his voice suddenly going firm.  “Gilly.  Do you mean to tell me you’re staying at the House with the Red Door?”

            She just barely nodded her head and Sam lurched forward to lay his hands on either side of her face.  “Gilly,” he said urgently, pleading.  “Gilly, what happened?  Your father, he…hurt you?  What happened?”

            She nodded and Dany just barely heard her whisper, “He beat me.  Kicked me.  He tried to kill me.  And then, when he threatened Little Sam, I called the police.”

            Sam fell to his knees in front of her and was suddenly holding her hands, kissing her fingers and shaking with sadness and anger.  “Oh, Gilly, I’m so sorry.  I’m so sorry.  I should’ve never left you, I should’ve never gone to grad school.  I’m so sorry.  If you want, you can stay with me.  I promise I’ll keep you safe and you’ll be comfortable.  I have a spare bedroom and everything.  I’m making good money now, you don’t need to work until you’re ready, I’ll take care of everything.  Please, let me help you.  I don’t want you doing this alone.”

            Gilly looked to Dany, lost and confused.  Dany bit her lip hard and shrugged, then gestured back to Sam.  She looked down at him, still mumbling entreaties as he kissed her hands, and, softly, she said, “I’m not alone, Sam.  Dany and the other girls are taking good care of Little Sam and me.  But…I want you to be a part of Sam’s life and I do really need help right now.  So, I guess…if you’re sure it’s okay…yes.  I’d like to move in with you.”

            Sam breathed a sigh of relief and straightened enough that Dany could see the tear tracks on his face.  “Oh, Gilly.  Thank you.  Thank you.  Can I kiss you?  Just a little kiss because I adore you.”

            Gilly smiled and almost sobbed, then nodded.  Sam straightened and kissed her once, softly, on the mouth, then returned to his chair, still not releasing her hands.

            Dany felt Jon’s hand on hers and wound her fingers between his.  He squeezed her hand and she looked to him, saw the molten grey of his eyes, the sweet little smile he wore, and she leaned over to kiss him once on the lips.

 

\------------------

 

            They stayed late at The Imp’s Delight talking about the past and making plans for the future.  Sam had a little house mostly filled with books and a small yard he’d never done anything with but suggested Gilly could plant a garden there come spring and that there was a nice flat spot that would be perfect for a small swingset.  Jon and Dany mostly listened quietly, Jon’s hand drawing patterns on Dany’s thigh under the table.  At one point, he leaned over and whispered in her ear, “You look so beautiful tonight.”

            At the end of the night, Dany drove a slightly tipsy Gilly back to the House, listening to her talk animatedly about her new life with Sam the whole way. 

            She had done this.  She had made this happen, and it felt so damn good.

            When they got home, the pits greeted them at the door, whining and rooing.  Dany bent down to soak up their            love while Gilly made her way into the living room, where Missandei, Irri, and Little Sam waited.  “Mama!” Sam squealed.

            “Hey, Little!” Gilly squealed right back, scooping him up and spinning him around.  “Guess what?”

            “What?”

            “Tomorrow, you’re gonna meet your daddy.”

            Sam tipped his head in confusion.  “Daddy?”

            Gilly grinned.  “Yes.  Tomorrow, you’re going to meet Daddy.”

            Sam caught Gilly’s contagious excitement and lifted his little fists in excitement.  “Daddy!”

            Irri and Missandei watched the scene with wide eyes and wider grins.  “So, it went well?” Missandei asked.

            “Oh, it went amazing!” Gilly squealed.  “He wants to be a part of Sam’s life and he asked us to live with him!  He has a spare room for Sam and me and he’s going to put up a swingset in the backyard and everything!  Oh gods, I’m so happy I talked to him.”  She spun on Dany, gratitude oozing from her every pore.  “Thank you so much, Dany, for convincing me to do this and going with me to talk to him!  Thank you so, so much!”

            Dany grinned and felt a warm glow start in her chest and beam outward.  “Of course, Gilly.  That’s what I do.”

            Dany sat in the living room, sharing Drogon’s armchair with him, and talked with the girls until Jon and Ghost arrived with a knock at the door.  She got up and let them in with a smile and, seconds after putting in the security code, Jon tugged her around the staircase and out of sight of the living room, where he pushed her up against the wall and began kissing her neck and chest like he was starving for her.  She giggled and whispered, “I see you learned not to kiss me right at the door.”

            “I did,” he murmured, covering her mouth with his.  She sighed and melted under his touch, letting him ravish her with kisses.  “Do you know how much I love you?” Jon whispered to her when he finally let her breathe.

            Dany smiled, but didn’t have the words to respond.  Instead, Jon kissed her again, digging his fingers into her hair, and murmured to her, “I love you more than anything, Daenerys Targaryen, you amazing woman.  Do you realize what you did tonight?  You changed fate.”

            She grinned, overflowing with happiness at the words and what had happened tonight.  “Maybe it was fate that brought her to me and I just played along.”

            He shook his head and looked her in the eyes, smiling in admiration.  “No, love.  You changed the whole course of three people’s lives and made them so much happier.  That’s amazing.”

            She kissed him back, her lips hungry for his, and said to him, “Maybe you should take me upstairs and show me how amazing you think I am.”

            Jon laughed and released her, taking her hand in his and watching her with those eyes dark and full of lust.  “Let’s go, love.”

            They wished the girls goodnight and slipped upstairs, leaving the dogs to play with Little Sam.  They made it to the third floor landing before Jon grabbed her and scooped her into his arms with a growl.  Dany squeaked in surprise and hissed as he continued up the stairs.  “On the staircase, Jon Snow?  You’re going to drop me on my head.”

            “I would never do such a thing,” he said, smirking.

            They made it to the attic in one piece and Jon kicked the door to close it over, then threw Dany onto the bed.  She squeaked in surprise again, but it turned into a moan when he knelt over her and kissed her soft and deep on the mouth.  His hands ran up her torso to her breasts, then back down to where her surplice top tied at her side.  “I love this shirt,” he said.  “I’ve spent all night imagining untying it.”

            Dany giggled and let him untie it and unwrap her, leaving her laying there in her push-up bra and jeans, which were soon gone too.  “This hardly seems fair,” she moaned as he kissed his way down her leg, dragging her panties along with and eventually tossing them to the floor.  “How come I’m naked and you still have all your clothes on?”

            Jon shrugged.  “I guess we have different priorities.”  Then, he leaned down and took her right breast into his mouth, sucking and drawing teasing circles around her nipple with his tongue.

            “Jon…” she moaned.  She could already feel the heat pooled in her core, her muscles clenching with want.  “Jon, please…”

            “Please what, love?”  Then, he just barely tugged on her nipple with his teeth, sending a bolt of pleasure arcing done her spine to her core.

            “Gods, Jon…”

            He moved to the other breast and gave it the same treatment, trailing his fingertips down her body to her navel, then back up lightly enough to tickle.  She squirmed under him and fought to get her legs around him so she could get some friction, but he easily shifted his legs to pin hers down.  “Jon…” she moaned, an embarrassing pleading tone to her voice.

            “Yes, love?”

            “You…” she gasped when he twirled his tongue around her peak.  “You are a tease, Jon Snow.”

            Jon looked up long enough to smirk and raise an eyebrow at her.  “Is this new information, love?  We’ll call this payback for you teasing me in the parking lot yesterday.”

            “You enjoyed that!”

            He chuckled.  “And you’re enjoying this.”  Then, he lowered his head again and took her nipple into his mouth, sucking on it like she’d sucked on his cock.

            “Oh gods…” she moaned.  Her lower muscles seized and she curled her toes and fisted her hands in desperation.  “Jon, please…”

            “Please what?”

            “Please…”  He rolled her right nipple between her fingers and her hips bucked.  “Oh Jon!  Gods, Jon, fuck me.  Please.  Please, fuck me.”

            “Thank you for saying the magic words,” he murmured, laughter behind his words.  She heard the sound of his zipper and his pants dropping, and then he moved to straddle just one leg and slide inside her.  She saw stars and dug her fingers into the muscles of his ass to pull him in deeper.  He pushed into her harder, deeper, then reached down to her knee, bending her free leg up to her chest.  Her lips parted in a gasp and she found them caught in an “O” shape as he pounded into her, so deep and so easy because of the angle.  “Oh fuck, Jon…oh gods…”

            “Come for me, love,” he whispered in her ear.

            “Jon!” she cried out.  Then his hand was covering her mouth and she was screaming, screaming as her muscles pulsed and clenched around him, as her juices drenched him.  She was still screaming, still coming, when he came inside her several moments later until finally, her release ran its course and she melted into a puddle underneath him.

            Jon moved his hand from her mouth and lovingly kissed her lips, slow and lazy and warm.  She kissed him back drowsily, feeling sleep encroaching like a shadow at the corners of her eyes.  “That’s right, love,” Jon whispered.  “Go to sleep.”

            She felt him lie down on the bed beside her and pull her onto his chest, her cheek over his heart.  Then, she fell into a deep, black sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy the scones! :)
> 
> 2c flour  
> 1/4c packed brown sugar  
> 1 Tbl baking powder  
> 1/4 tsp salt  
> 4 Tbl cold butter, cut up  
> 1c blackberries  
> 2/3c heavy cream  
> 1 egg  
> 1 shot brandy
> 
> Preheat oven to 375*. Stir together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. And blackberries and toss to mix. In small bowl, mix heavy cream, egg, and brandy with fork until blended. Slowly pour into flour mixture. Knead to combine until mixture holds together. On floured surface, divide dough in half and press each half into a 6" round. Cut each round into 6 wedges, transfer to cookie sheet. Bake 22-25 minutes. Best served warm or microwaved if they make it to day two. :)


	10. I am Hers, and She is Mine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This may be my favorite chapter yet. Hope you enjoy!

            Jon could hardly believe it when he awoke to filtered sunlight on his face and Daenerys dozing on his chest.  It was the first time he’d slept through the night since his last tour, since getting locked in that box.  He felt like he could run a marathon.

            And Daenerys had slept through too, which was a relief.  She pushed herself too hard, hardly ever sleeping, and it worried him.  He knew she had slept through last night, though, because she was still in the exact same position he’d placed her in when she passed out last night.  Remembering the way she’d come undone, screaming his name and thrashing under him in the longest climax he’d ever given a woman…gods the memory was enough to make him hard again.  And her pleading words falling from her perfect lips, _Gods, Jon, fuck me.  Please.  Please, Jon, fuck me._   There was nothing sexier in the world.

            She’d said she loved him and he could feel it when she kissed him and ran her hands through his hair.  He could feel it when they fucked, which had quickly started to feel like making love, like with every thrust he could feel her soul that much more deeply.  He could see it in her amethyst eyes when she laughed at something he said or watched him playing with the dogs, her children. 

            But she wasn’t his.  She wouldn’t be his until she trusted him enough to say it to his face, to look him in the eyes and whisper the words the way she had the other night.  _I love you, Jon Snow._   Only then would she really be his and he wanted that more than he’d ever wanted anything.

            Dany whimpered softly and nestled against his chest.  For a moment, he feared she’d wake, but she slipped back into deep sleep and he wrapped his arms around her to keep her warm and settled.  This woman deserved to feel safe, like she could relax enough to fall asleep without fear.  Someday, he was going to figure out how she had gotten hurt so bad and kill the bastard who’d done it.

            He looked to his watch on the nightstand, right next to their guns.  A quarter after eight.  Gilly and Sam would be up at any time, if they weren’t already.  He and Dany had managed to sleep in for once.

            Slowly, he began running his hands up and down her body, warm and gentle.  She didn’t stir, not even when he cupped her exposed breast.  He was still rock-hard from thinking about last night, so, just to see, he slid his hand down over her gorgeous ass and between her legs.  Somehow, he didn’t imagine she’d complain about waking up to that.

            She was so damn soft, her delicate skin and the downy blond curls between her thighs.  It made him ache inside with wanting to cherish her and kiss her on the one hand and ravage her on the other.  He traced his fingertips along her folds, circling her center until he felt her clit begin to swell, then he dipped one finger just barely inside her. 

            Dany sighed and he froze for a minute, but she didn’t stir.  She just laid there on his chest, still asleep, with the tiniest bit of a smile on her face.  _She looks like a fucking angel._

            He slipped one finger inside her slowly.  She was just barely wet and as slowly as he could without losing his damn mind, he pumped his finger in and out.  She sighed again and stirred, but didn’t fully wake.  He tried a second finger and she moaned.  “Mmm…Jon…”

            He about came right there, just the way she’d murmured his name like she was his and he was hers, like she loved him and needed him more than anything.  It melted his brain.

            Both fingers all the way in, then curling and rubbing her G-spot as he pulled out.  Dany stirred again and moaned, “Jon…”

            She was soaking wet now and he was wondering how the hell she was still asleep.  With one finger, he traced a small circle around her nub, then moved in to tease it.  With a gasp, Dany woke, her hand clasped his and holding it still where it was before her eyes even opened.  A slow, sleepy smile crawled across her face and she opened her eyes to meet his.  “Good morning to you too,” she said.

            “Good morning, love,” he said, unable to stop a guilty smirk.  “Everything all right?”

            “Well, I was just having the loveliest dream and then I woke up and here we are.”

            He smiled and stretched his fingers to dip into her center.  “Tell me about your dream.”

            Dany pushed on his hand just slightly, pressing his fingers into her.  Her expression stayed infuriatingly thoughtful, though, as she described the dream nonchalantly.  “Well, you and I were in bed together and we were naked and you were inside me.”  She pressed him deeper into her, as deep as he could reach, and his lips parted as his cock throbbed.  “So deep inside me.  You were on top and, this is the interesting part, my arms were above my head, Jon.  It took me a minute to figure out why, but then I realized that I was handcuffed to the bed.”

            This woman was going to kill him.

            “Handcuffed, huh?” he asked, his mouth dry and his tongue barely obeying his commands as she pulled his hand out of her, then very slowly pushed him back in.

            Dany nodded, frowning as if the matter required philosophical exploration.  “Yes.  I think they were _your_ handcuffs.  You know, your police-issue ones.”

            He didn’t see her move, but suddenly her hand was on his cock and rubbing slowly up and down.  He about jumped through the roof when her hand closed around him, then for a moment his eyes rolled back in his head before he could regain composure.  “ _My_ handcuffs,” he groaned.

            “Mm-hmm.  Kind of funny, huh?  I didn’t know my brain was that creative.”  She frowned then and tipped her head curiously at him.  “Jon, are you alright?  You seem a bit distressed.”

            She had gotten the rhythm of moving his hand and stroking his cock to match perfectly and he was dangerously close to exploding.  “Gods, Dany, you’re going to kill me.”

            “What?” she asked innocently, her amethyst eyes wide and doe-y.  “Is it something I said?”

            “Fuck it,” he growled.  He snatched his hand free and smacked a hand on each of her hips, then easily lifted her upright and set her right on his cock.  She was so wet it took no effort and he slid right inside her, so deep and warm and wet.

            “Fuck, Jon…” she moaned, eyes squeezed shut as she laid her hands on his chest and dug her nails in.  He’d acquired so many fingernail-shaped open wounds this week that showering was perilous, but he loved every tiny scar.  He lifted her up a few inches, then brought her down again.  A shock rippled through her spine and her whole body shuddered, then she was riding him, her hips rotating in a way that had him seeing stars.  He could feel every inch of her channel, could map the entrance to her womb.

            “Dany…” he groaned.  “Fuck me…”

            “Yes…” she sighed.  She picked up the speed and was simultaneously rotating her hips and moving up and down on him. 

His eyes rolled in his head and he could feel his balls clenching.  “Gods, Dany,” he groaned, releasing her hips to fill his hands with her softly bouncing breasts.  She smiled then and opened her eyes.  They were beautiful and such a dark purple, like a summer storm.  Then, she bit her lip like a shy virgin and brought one hand down between her legs.

All of this and she was going to touch herself in front of him too?  She was.  Her narrow little fingers found her clit in seconds, and then she was riding him harder, faster, her head thrown back and her eyes snapped shut.  She looked like a fucking goddess, she _was_ a goddess.

He came so hard that when he came back to earth it was to find Dany’s hand across his mouth and a lazy, satisfied grin on her face that told him she’d come too, but was happier that he had and, specifically, that he’d come so hard.  “Welcome back, Jon,” she said teasingly.

“Fuck…” he moaned.  “Apparently, I need to wake you more often.”

“I guess so.”  She laid down across his chest, his cock still inside her.  “I think that was the best wake-up call I’ve ever had.”

Jon laughed.  “You were covering my mouth.”

“You were shouting curse words!” she exclaimed, laughing.  “I didn’t want Little Sam to pick up any of them!”

He grinned at the thought and stroked her hair, which had gotten wild in the course of the night.  “Shoot.  Well, thank you, then.”

“Any time.”

He snorted, then thought back to the things she’d said while she was teasing him.  He raised an eyebrow.  “Did you actually have a dream about my handcuffs?”

Dany shrugged.  “Yeah.  I suppose I wasn’t sleeping when I had it, though…”

Jon’s head snapped up from the pillow and he looked her in the eye.  The little smile she wore was a little nervous, a little embarrassed, but mostly mischievous.  He tipped his head to the side in shock and grinned.  “Never going to stop surprising me, huh?”

“I warned you.”

“Yeah and now I’m warning you, when I get home from work tonight, I’m bringing my handcuffs in.”

Dany smiled wide and laughed softly.  “Duly noted, Officer Snow.”

Every little thing she said or did and he just loved her more and more.

 

\------------------

 

He didn’t know if it was Dany screaming last night or him screaming this morning, but eating breakfast with the girls made it painfully obvious that at some point they had been heard.  Gilly’s smile was blinding, but that could have been attributed to her excitement over moving in with Sam.  Irri and Missandei on the other hand both kept randomly blushing and smirking.  At one point, Irri whispered something to Missandei and they both exploded into a fit of giggles.  Jon seriously considered forgoing breakfast in favor of working with the dogs, but when Dany offered him a tall stack of chocolate chip pancakes, he wasn’t about to say no.

Another fit of giggles and Dany spun around to glare at Irri and Missandei with one hand on her hip and one eyebrow raised.  “Alright, what is it?

Both girls continued to smirk, but smothered their giggles.  “Nothing.  Sorry, Dany,” Irri said.

“Uh-huh,” Dany said wryly.  After a moment’s thought, she rolled her eyes, mouthed the words _fuck it_ and stalked over to Jon.  Before he could react, she planted a huge kiss on his mouth, very nearly stopping his heart, then spun on the girls.  “Okay.  Ladies, this is Jon Snow.  He’s my boyfriend now and he’s living with us, so if you hear any strange sounds from my bedroom or anywhere else, kindly _keep it to yourself._ ”

All three girls erupted in giggles and Jon felt a searing-hot flush spread over his face, but he stood his ground and focused on the huge positive that had just occurred.  _This is Jon Snow.  He’s my boyfriend._

He was hers.

At around ten o’clock, there was a knock on the red door and the dogs came to life with a chorus of barks, howls, and growls.  Dany fought her way through to the front door, checked the peephole, then let in a slightly-terrified Sam.  “Oh my,” he said shakily.  “Jon told me about the dogs, but…hey Ghost!”  Ghost rubbed his head into Sam’s belly, demanding pets, and in doing so convinced the pits that this human was not a threat and merely another source of pets.

Gilly appeared from the staircase and tossed her plastic bags of belongings on the floor by the door, then grabbed Sam in a fierce hug.  “Little Sam is in the kitchen,” she said.

Jon stooped to pick up Little Sam and balance him on his hip before the dogs ran him over.  Gilly and Sam entered the kitchen with Dany trailing behind.  Sam’s eyes began to water at the first sight of Little Sam and Gilly had to grab his hands and tug him the rest of the way forward.  Then, Gilly said to Little Sam, “Sam, this is your daddy.”

“Daddy!” Little Sam squealed, holding out both arms to Sam.

Sam broke into full-on tears and accepted Little Sam from Jon with a sniffle.  “Thank you.”  He hugged Little Sam hard against his chest, murmuring things in his ear.  “You are such a handsome little boy.  You got your mama’s looks.  You’re so amazing.  I’m so happy I finally get to see you and you get to come live with me now.  Nobody’s ever going to hurt you, Sam.  I’m going to take care of you and mama now.”

“I love you, Daddy!” Little Sam squeaked.

Sam was now sobbing into Little Sam’s shoulder.  “I love you too, Sam.”

Over Sam’s shoulder, Jon sought out Dany’s gaze.  She didn’t meet his eyes, she was fixated on Sam, Sam, and Gilly.  Her face was like white marble, but he could see the gleam of tears in her eyes.  That image was like a knife in his gut.

She was jealous, so jealous it was eating her up inside.

He slipped around Sam and Gilly and nearly tripped over Rhaegal, but made it to Dany a moment later.  She didn’t see him until after she felt the weight of his arm around her, his hand on her hip.  Then, she looked up at him through tear-filled eyes.  “Pretty cool, huh?” she whispered.

“You don’t have to hide from me,” he whispered back.  “I’m in this no matter what.”

Dany swallowed and nodded, then looked back to the new family.

They said goodbye to Gilly, Sam, and Sam.  Missandei was reduced to tears by a heartfelt goodbye from Little Sam.  Then, the new family walked out the red door to where Sam’s car waited out front.

When they were gone, Dany began to slowly deflate and she immediately turned and retreated up the stairs.  Missandei and Irri watched her, frowning, and looked to Jon in confusion.  Jon gestured at them to stay downstairs and followed Dany quickly, afraid of the consequences of her being alone in her room for long.

He shut the bedroom door behind him and followed a trail of clothing into the bathroom, where Dany was curled up on the floor in her bra and panties, sobbing into her arms.  Some piece of him inside his chest began to throb and bleed and he dropped to his knees beside her, pulling her into his lap.  “Oh, love.  Come here, I’ve got you.  Let it out.  It’s okay, I’ve got you.”

She did let it out.  She let it out in great heaving sobs against his chest while he cradled her, his arms wrapped around her to hold her together.  He felt like his ribs had become shattered glass and like all those little pieces were slicing into his organs.  He’d known what she’d been through, but he’d never expected that she still harbored so much pain inside of her.  How did she live like this?  With all that agony and misery balled up inside her?

When Dany finally calmed enough to stop crying and was just curled up shaking in his arms, he laid his head on hers and whispered, “One way or another, you’ll have that, love.  I swear you will.  I told you those doctors could have been idiots and even if you really can’t, there’s still adoption or a surrogate.  I was a foster kid and I loved my family and they loved me.  I know you want your Rhaego, but I promise there will be another little one that will fill your heart back up.  I promise.”

Dany looked up at him through swollen eyes and tears.  “You believe that?”

“I do,” he said firmly.  Even if she didn’t want him forever, he was going to make sure she got her little one before the end.  She would never be alone again.  “I really do.”

Her amethyst eyes full of tears killed him.  He was about to either start crying himself or look away to avoid it when Dany took a shaky breath, then said to him, her voice breathless, “I love you, Jon Snow.”

That was when tears did fill his eyes and he shut them while he kissed her forehead.  “And I love you, Daenerys Targaryen.”

 

\------------------

 

He didn’t want to ever leave her, but he had to work at five.  So, he finished undressing her, scooped her up, and lowered her into a screaming hot bath steaming with the scents of her favorite bath oils.  He washed her hair for her, massaging her scalp, then massaged her arms and feet too.  Then, he just sat on the edge of the tub and talked with her until the water cooled and she abandoned it for the bed.  She didn’t put on any clothes before climbing in under the covers, so he took his off and slid in after her, curling his body around hers, his hands on her belly and chest to keep her warm and safe.  They dozed off and Jon slipped out of bed when it was time to leave.  He dressed, wrote a short note for Daenerys letting her know he’d see her at five a.m., then slipped out to the stairs and called Drogon as softly as he could.  The big, black pitbull heard and came barreling up the stairs, his brothers not far behind.  Jon kept the bedroom door shut for a moment to slow them down, then let them in.  With surprising grace and care, the three dogs hopped up onto the bed and settled in around Daenerys, Viserion on the left, Rhaegal on the right, and Drogon at her feet.  “Good boys,” Jon said softly.

He grabbed his gun, left the bedroom behind, and he and Ghost went to work.

 

\------------------

 

            It was nearly two a.m. and he and Ghost were sitting at one of their favorite speedtrap spots when he heard the call over the radio.

            “10-59.  Security breach at residence number 137 Blue Rose Lane.”

            His heart stopped in his chest and it was with shaking hands that he held down the transmit button.  “10-4.  Officer Snow and K-9 unit responding.”

            Ghost sat bolt upright in the backseat and Jon flicked on the light and pealed out of there spot fast enough to throw gravel.  His heart was pounding in his head louder, faster, louder, faster.  _A security breach is not the same as someone calling for help or a confirmed intruder.  Maybe they let the dogs out and didn’t hit the code fast enough._   His heart was not satisfied, though.  It kept beating, so hard now that he couldn’t breathe fast enough to keep up with it.  _Not now.  I need to be strong now._

            He pulled up in front of the House with the Red Door to find all the lights on.  The front door was closed, a good sign, but that amount of lights meant scared residents.  He got out of the squadcar, leashed up Ghost, and bolted to the front door.  “Ghost, sit,” he ordered.  Ghost obeyed and he knocked on the door.  Just in case there was an intruder in there, he shouted through the door, “Winterfell PD.  I’m responding to a security breach.”

            The door opened and Dany stood there, her Kimber at her side and tears in her eyes.  When she saw Jon, she grabbed him around the middle in a fierce hug.  Ghost growled and Jon gestured at him to stay down.  “Love, you have to let me go.  Ghost’s in work mode and you’re scaring him.”

            “Sorry.”  She let him go and took a step back.  Irri and Missandei were now in the foyer behind her.  “The dogs are in the laundry room.  When I saw it was you I sent them there so Ghost could do his thing.”

            “Thanks.”  He reached out and took her hand, squeezing hard.  He could feel her pulse pounding through her skin and he wanted to kill whoever had dared scare her.  “I assume he’s gone.  What happened?”

            Dany swallowed hard.  “I don’t know.  Drogon growled and woke me and the security alarms went off.  I went down the stairs with the dogs and the door was hanging wide open.  I checked the whole house, but can you please check it again with Ghost?”

            “Of course.  Did the dogs go outside?”

            “Drogon tried to, but I shut the door.  I had to make sure the girls were safe first and I didn’t want him to get hurt chasing someone.”

            He squeezed her hand again.  “Good job.  I want you, Irri, and M to sit on the stairs and just try to relax while Ghost and I check the first floor.  Then we’ll go past you and check upstairs.”

            Dany nodded stiffly and ushered Missandei and Irri to the stairs.  Jon and Ghost entered the house and Dany put in the security code behind them.

            They searched every inch of the house, but Ghost could find nothing.  Outside, Ghost tracked a path that led through the trees and eventually to the street three blocks down, but the car was long gone.  The creep was probably spooked by the security alarms and the barking dogs, but something felt wrong.  It felt so wrong that his skin was crawling with it and he dreaded having to leave Dany and the girls in that house without him.

            Jon loaded up Ghost in the squadcar, he would only unnerve the girls in work mode, and returned to the house.  Dany let him in and hugged him hard again, this time refusing to let go.  “It’s okay,” he murmured.  “You’re fine.  I’ve got you, love.”

            “I wasn’t expecting it to…be like that,” Dany choked out, her voice broken by nerves.  “I could’ve handled shooting Craznys, I thought that’s who it would be, but they just left the door hanging open, like they just wanted me to know they could get in if they wanted to.  Fuck, I’m scared, Jon…”

            Her words sent a chill down his spine and he squeezed her a little tighter.  Over her shoulder, he sent reassuring looks to Irri and Missandei, who were still sitting on the steps holding each other.  Craznys or Doreah, Irri’s ex, would not have had the forethought and control to terrorize the House in that way.  To break in for the sole purpose of scaring someone was a whole other type of perpetrator.

            “I want you girls to get dressed in something comfortable and get in your truck,” he said.  “Bring the dogs if you have room.  Follow me to the station and you can hide out there until the morning.  We’ll change the locks and update the security code tomorrow.  Okay?”

            The girls nodded and Dany pressed a soft kiss to the side of his neck.  “Thank you.”

            “Of course, love.  Go get dressed.”

            While they were upstairs, Jon checked out the locks on the front door.  The handle and deadbolt were different locks and had both been shredded on the inside.  The security deadbolt, which was just a sliding bolt Dany must have installed, had been cut using a reciprocating saw, probably the same weapon used to destroy the locks.  Jon shook his head at the sight.  _Someone came here with power tools to get through this door and when they managed it, they left it wide open and fled._   And aside from a much larger sliding bolt, the intruder had made it plain that new locks would not solve the problem and the security system hadn’t been a help until he was already past the front door.  If he’d gone straight upstairs, the girls would have been trapped because of that narrow stairwell.  And he would’ve still been holding a reciprocating saw.

            That last thought brought on horrible images that he hadn’t imagined the like of since Iraq and made him sick to his stomach.  No.  This guy had not attacked the girls, he had not attacked his Dany or her beloved dogs.  He had done this intending to scare them.  Jon would just have to get a step ahead of him.


	11. Karma is Coming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the wonderful response to the last chapter!! This chapter should answer some questions and raise new ones.

Trying to sleep in hard chairs at the police station was hell, but it was better than being at home right then.  Especially since Jon was right there the whole time, pressing kisses to her forehead or hand every time he walked past.  He had taken Ghost out of work mode and the big white dog was laying at the girls’ feet.  Jon, though, was wide awake and his face was stone-like with determination.

Each of the girls gave statements.  Jon held Dany’s hand through hers, slowing down his typing, but bringing her more comfort than he could possibly know.  When it was done, she asked him, “So…do you know h-how he did it?”

Jon shut his eyes and nodded.  “I do.  He had a car parked a couple blocks away and walked up.  That’s why your dogs didn’t hear a car.  And he used a reciprocating saw to destroy the locks and cut the sliding bolt.”

Dany’s eyes went wide.  Someone had _cut_ their way into her House, had stood in her foyer holding a saw and listening to the alarms go off.  “How is it none of us heard that?  Surely it took him a few minutes to do.”

Jon nodded, rubbing a circle into the top of her hand.  “Missandei heard it, she’s on the second floor, but Irri’s on the third and you’re all the way up in the attic.  I don’t know why the dogs didn’t respond, but I’m going to train Drogon to react to it for the future.”

Dany nodded, but that image of some smug bastard standing in her foyer holding a saw would not leave her.  “I hope that bastard comes back.  I’d like to shoot him in the face for this.”

Jon chuckled once without humor and squeezed her hand.  “I’m with you, love.  Next time, though, I’d like to be in the house with you instead of responding to the call.”  He sighed and seemed to grow sad, then, looking down at their hands, he asked her, “I know there are things you haven’t told me, love.  And that’s fine.  But if you have any suspicions as to who did this, I need to know.”

She blinked.  “Well…my first thought was Craznys.”

He nodded.  “Craster is still in lockup, Craznys is not smart enough to bring a saw, and Doreah is not controlled enough to stop at the foyer.  I’m looking for someone smart enough to plan this, controlled enough to stop, and sick enough to get off on terrorizing you.”

Memories rippled through her, memories she had kept tightly bottled up for years, things she hadn’t told Daario or even Drogo, things she hadn’t told anyone since her father called her a whore and a liar.  _Sweet sister_ whispered over and over in her head with that arrogant voice, full of power he’d stolen from her.  Bruises purpling on her skin, shallow cuts oozing blood from her legs and ribs.  Hair pulled so hard chunks came loose, so hard she started wearing her hair in French braids to protect it.  A hand wrapped around her throat as he whispered in her ear, _If you ever cross me, sweet sister, you’ll wish you’d never been born._  

When she came back to earth, tears were in her eyes.  She was shattered and falling apart in tiny shards there under the harsh light of the police station.  She couldn’t look at Jon as she whispered the name, loathing dripping from each syllable, “Viserys.  Viserys would do this.”

Both her hands were in Jon’s now.  She thought he would ask what Viserys had done that she believed him capable of this, but he didn’t.  Instead, he asked, “When was the last time you had contact with him?”

She shut her eyes.  “He found me in Essos once.  I started dating Drogo a few days later.  He must have known, because he stopped showing up or trying to call me.”

“Do you know where he is?  Where he went after high school?”

She shook her head.

Jon stroked her fingers gently, then asked, “Love, after you left for Essos, did he ever stalk you or harass you?”

She nodded.  Her throat was tight with pain and fear, her lungs collapsing in her chest.

“And all of this stopped cold when you started dating Drogo?”

She nodded again.  She could hardly see through her tears.

“Is that why you dated him?”

Another nod.  Somewhere she found the oxygen to say, “He’d asked me out before and I’d said ‘no’ because I didn’t think he was smart enough for me.  But when Viserys…threatened me…I decided spending time with a bodybuilder might scare him off.”

Jon took a shaky breath.  “He threatened you?  What did he threaten you with?”

Now her ribs were collapsing, crushing the air out of her lungs.  Her throat seized and she felt her body curling inward.  Her eyes began to widen in panic, missing the oxygen.  She used to carry Xanax in her purse, but it had been so long since she had a panic attack, so long since she felt so weak, since she lost all the air in her lungs, and then the torturous rushing of air in, out, in, out as she fought for breath, but none of the oxygen ever sank in.

Jon stood abruptly, his hands on her shoulders, and lifted her to stand.  “Come on, love,” he said softly, soothingly.  “Let’s go in this interview room over here.  It’s always warm and the lights aren’t so bright.  We’ll shut the door and it’ll be just you and me.”

She could feel eyes on her as they moved into the interview room, but all of it felt like she was experiencing it from underwater.  She heard the echo of the door latching, then she was in a chair and Jon was kneeling in front of her, his beautiful face scrunched up in concern.  He put his hands on her face and said, “Love, I need you to take a breath.  It’s just you and me here, you’re okay.  Just take a breath, nice and slow.”

Her lips were parted now, gasping for air, and tears were streaming down her face.  She was suffocating.  She was suffocating, killing herself right in front of Jon.

“Okay,” Jon said.  “Close your eyes, love.  Close your eyes.”  She did.  His hands ever-so-gently moved over her face, leaving patterns of warmth on her cheeks, her forehead, her eyelids, her lips.  “Good job, love.  It’s just you and me.  We’re sitting in bed together.  The dogs are on the floor.  Rhaegal and Viserion are snuggling and Drogon’s glaring at me like he knows what I did to you yesterday morning.”  The tiniest chuckle fell from her lips.  “That’s right.  And Ghost’s up here on the bed with us.  He’s soft and warm and he nudges your elbow to make sure everything’s okay.  And I kiss you.”  He did, his mouth warm and soft on hers.  A breath slid down her throat and his tongue touched hers, startling her into holding the breath for a moment before she let it out.  He released her and leaned his forehead against hers, his nose nuzzling her as he whispered against her lips.  “Good job, love.  Can you take another breath?”  She did.  It was shaky and forced, but she did it.  “Now hold it for a moment.  Alright, let it go.”  She did and felt her muscles began to relax ever-so-slightly.  Jon’s hands roamed down her arms and back up, down her chest between her breasts to her navel, and back up to spread over her stomach and diaphragm, which promptly warmed and stopped seizing.  “That’s it.  Good job, love.  Just relax.  It’s just you and me.  Another breath?”  She did, and this time she was able to hold it for a moment without him asking her to.  “Good job.  Open your eyes, love.”  She opened them and found his grey eyes inches from hers, swimming with worry and love.  “There you are.  Welcome back.”

She took a deep, slow breath, let it out, then reached up to bury her fingers in his curls and pull his mouth to hers again.  He kissed her long and slow, his lips drinking her in, his tongue moving with hers in a slow dance.  When she released him, they were both breathless, but she found the strength to say, “I love you, Jon.”

“I love you, Dany.”

She shut her eyes tight, fisting her hands in his hair.  “He threatened to ‘drag me back home where I belonged.’”

“And what did you do?”

“I told him to fuck off, got in a cab, and got away.”

“Why did you come back to Winterfell?”

“My dad died while I was in Essos and I thought Viserys must have moved on.  I thought it was safe and I could have good memories here instead of bad ones.”

Jon sighed.  “You’ve been through a lot, so I understand if you don’t want to talk about it right now, love.  But if this is Viserys, at some point I need you to tell me what he did to you, why he might be back now.”

The tears started back up and she shuddered all the way down to her bones.

“I’m not a cop right now, love.  I’m Jon, your Jon, and I want to know what to expect from him so I can protect you.  If he does come back and he says something I don’t expect, I don’t want to be so angry I lose my head.  I need to know what I’m fighting here.”

 _I’m Jon, your Jon._   He was all in, all hers, and he was willing to do anything to protect her.  That gave her strength and when she spoke, her voice didn’t quiver.  “He beat me.  He cut me.  He controlled everything I did.”  She gritted her teeth.  “He assaulted me.”

Jon’s hands left her to grip the arms of the chair.  She heard two of his knuckles crack and his voice was rough and dark when he answered, “He assaulted you.”

She shut her eyes and the memories hit her like waves smacking into her, making her stumble and fall beneath the water.  _Sweet sister._   “When my dad passed out drunk, Viserys would come into my room at night.  At first, scaring me was enough.  He’d run his hands over me and whisper the things he wanted to do to me, some sexual, some…not.”  Jon stiffened.  “He was obsessed with ‘marking me’ as his.”

“Gods, Dany.”

“The reason I don’t have scars is that I worked so hard to make sure the cuts healed properly.  Some of them took time to fade, but they’re all gone now.”

Another knuckle cracked.  “He cut you?”

“My thighs and ribs.  ‘The places only a man who wanted to fuck me would see.’”

Jon exhaled shakily.  She couldn’t bear to meet his eyes and kept hers shut.  “But that’s not what you meant when you said he assaulted you.”

“No.”

“Tell me what you meant, Dany.”

She forced herself to take a shaky breath, then said, “He groped me.  Twisted my nipples so hard I screamed.  He’d strip me naked before he cut me or bruised me, held me down by my hair.  There were times when he threatened to fuck me with his knife, just to scare me.”

“Gods, Dany, I want him dead,” Jon growled fiercely.

The tears trickled from the corners of her eyes.  “Jon, he raped me.”

There was a quiet moment, then Jon was wiping the tears from her eyes.  “Oh love…no…”

She nodded.  “He liked me…facedown.  He liked to…either press my face into the pillow until I fought for air or…pull my hair.  Sometimes it ripped out in chunks…that’s why I started wearing it in braids, so he couldn’t pull it out.”

She could feel Jon shaking and when she heard him stand, she found the strength to open her eyes and watch as he turned around and upended the table.  For a moment, he stared at it, then he gave it a sharp kick for good measure.  “Fuck, Dany,” he growled.  “I want to kill him.”

“We don’t know that it was him who broke in.”

He turned on her, a dark, dangerous look in his eye.  “I think you know it was.  And I’d rather not wait to find out for sure.”

“Jon…”

“I don’t want him within a hundred miles of you,” Jon growled, his eyes dark with anger and disgust.  “I don’t want him using up oxygen that someone else could put to better use.  What kind of monster rapes his sister?”

“Jon.”

He paused then, his grey eyes locked on hers filled with rage.  Slowly, she watched the gleam leave his eyes and then he was on her knees in front of her, wrapping her hands in his.  “I swear on my life, Daenerys, that he will never touch you again.  I will make sure of that.”

She squeezed his hands and bent to kiss his black curls.  “Thank you, Jon.”

Jon sighed lowly, then lifted his head to look her in the eyes.  “I’m so sorry, love.  I swear to you, I will do everything I can to make you so happy that all those memories fade to black.”

The words felt like balm on a gaping wound in her heart.  She kissed him, running her hands through his inky black curls, along his shoulders and over his back, protected by his vest.  When they at last broke apart, Jon said softly, “We should go back out there so they don’t worry.”

Back out in the workroom, Arya Stark sat on Jon’s desk in her police blues with an eyebrow raised.  “Do I want to know what was happening in there?” she asked.

Jon glared at her.  “An interview was happening.  It _is_ the interview room.”

Arya nodded slowly like she didn’t believe him, then leaned to the right just a bit to eye the overturned table.  “I see you redecorated.  Lannister will be so pleased.”

Jon growled, then took a step towards Arya.  “Arya, I need your help right now, not jokes.  The House was broken into tonight.”

Arya’s eyebrows shot up and she looked to Daenerys, then promptly slid off of Jon’s desk and slipped into cop-mode.  “I’m so sorry to here that.  Was the perp caught?”

“No, but I have a lead,” Jon said darkly.  “Can you start some research for me  While I’m gone?”

“Sure.”

“I want everything you can find on Viserys Targaryen.”

 

\------------------

 

Neither of the girls managed any sleep at the station, but that was no worse than if they’d been at home.  When Jon punched out at five a.m. and emerged from the locker room in his army t-shirt and jeans, he kissed Dany once softly before ushering the three of them plus Ghost out to the parking lot.

At home, Dany armed the security system at the front door with all of its broken locks and Jon commanded Ghost to guard the house.  Irri and Missandei fled to their bedrooms, hopefully to get some needed sleep.  Dany led Jon and the pits up to her attic bedroom.  Once there, Jon shut the door behind them and Dany began to strip off her sweatshirt, then her yoga pants, then her bra and panties.  When she was completely naked, she turned to find Jon staring at her partly in longing and partly in confusion.  “I feel safer when you hold me like this,” she murmured, feeling shy and anxious all of a sudden.  She’d shown so much weakness in the past twenty-four hours it made her sick.

“Of course, love.”  Jon peeled off his t-shirt, then dropped his jeans and boxer-briefs, the whole time watching Dany slide under the covers.  Jon slipped in behind her, wrapping his arms around her the way he’d done yesterday, and Dany sighed as the feelings of peace and safety began to slowly seep into her.

“Come on up, boys,” Jon called softly and Dany twitched in surprise.  Drogon led the charge, leaping onto the bed to lay across both their feet.  Then, Rhaegal and Viserion were carefully following him up, Viserion curling up in a ball against Dany’s belly and Rhaegal stretching out against Jon’s back. 

Dany melted.  When the dogs settled, she stroked Viserion’s soft, smooth coat with one hand and with the other, gripped Jon’s hand under the covers.  “Thank you,” she whispered.

“Of course.  They’re your children, I know you need them.”  Jon kissed her hair, then added as an afterthought, “If you decide you want a fuck, though, they need to get down.  It’s bad enough doing those things to you with Drogon glaring at me across the room, I’m not going to be able to perform with him within biting range.”

The first full laugh Dany had felt in what felt like ages hit her, startling Viserion, but thankfully not scaring him off.  When the laughter subsided, she kissed Jon’s hand.  “Thank you for that.  I’d say that’s perfectly fair.”

“Can I ask you something, Dany?”

“Hmm?”

Jon began to very carefully unwind what was left of her braids, gently smoothing out her hair so it laid between them like a curtain.  It felt like heaven.  “How long are you going to let me stay here?  I know it was supposed to be until M’s trial, but after last night I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to sleep in my apartment again.”

“You don’t think you’ll get tired of all this action?”

Jon snorted.  “Love, I was an Army Ranger for years and now I’m a cop.  Action is my life.  And I’m finding that living with you includes a lot of sexual action, so I’m thinking it’ll be worth it.”

Dany smiled and thought about it for a moment.  Jon living here permanently?  It was unorthodox considering the House was designed to protect women from men, but the fact that he was a cop would probably mean a lot to those women, the way it had meant a lot to Irri, Missandei, and Gilly.  She would certainly sleep better with him here.  She’d noticed that in the last few days.  And she was already getting used to having him and Ghost here, used to sharing her bathroom with a guy, used to her bed smelling like pine scent and sex, used to the way his eyes lit up when he realized she was cooking, regardless of what it was.  She liked having him here and she did want to keep him.

“Well,” she said.  “We do seem to sleep well together.”

Jon kissed her temple and pulled out her last braid.  “We do.  Let’s try getting some of that sleep now, love.”

“Okay.”

 

\------------------

 

Late that morning, Dany prepped brunch while Ghost continued to stand guard and Jon made a trip to the hardware store.  He returned before Missandei and Irri emerged with new locks, a new security deadbolt that was at least four times the thickness of the old one, a copper pipe, and a reciprocating saw.  He set to work immediately replacing the locks on the front door, including the security deadbolt, and a frowning Missandei arrived in the kitchen shortly thereafter still wearing her yoga pants and track sweatshirt from last night.  “I swear, you two are perfect for each other,” she said.  “Neither of you ever sleep.”

Dany shrugged, but a warm blush creeped across her face.  “What do you want in your omelet?  I have cheese, mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach, ham, and bacon.”

“Cheese, mushrooms, and spinach.  Thank you.”

“I’ll take one with everything,” Jon called from the foyer.

“Alright.  Yours is on deck.”

After brunch, Dany and Jon went out to the backyard with Drogon, Jon toting his reciprocating saw and pipe.  As they walked, he said, “M woke up to the sound of grinding metal, but no one else did, including Drogon.  In case this guy comes back, I want to train Drogon to wake up to that and bark.”

Dany nodded, disturbed anew that someone had used a saw of all things to break in.  “Okay.”

“So, there are a couple ways I can do this, love,” Jon said, watching Drogon as he took to the grass, then turned to watch the two of them.  “I’d like to train him to have a work mode like Ghost does, but that’s something that would take months, if not longer.  I can also train him to expect a reward for barking at the sound of a saw, but I don’t really want him in a good mood when he hears it.”

Dany frowned down at Drogon.  “So, what are you going to do?”

Jon sighed.  “I’m going to ask you to hold him back and act scared while I cut at this pipe with the saw.  I’ll reward him for barking at it and hopefully he won’t rip my arms off.  The goal will be to make him react to the sound of metal on metal by going into guard dog mode.”

Her stomach began to slowly churn.  “This sounds…risky.”

“It is.  He could end up barking every time he hears a saw and he might be in a sour mood today.  Most of all, please don’t let him charge me while I’m holding a saw.”  Jon sighed and put his arms around her, enveloping her in warmth and softness.  “But this might be the most important piece, love.  I don’t know why he didn’t react to that sound last night, maybe because you’re always doing projects around the house, but if he had it would’ve given you a few more minutes to either scare off or identify this guy.”

Dany leaned her head on his chest and watched Drogon watch them for a long moment, then nodded.  Jon released her and handed her a short leash, then stepped back to where he’d laid the reciprocating saw and copper pipe.  Dany sent a prayer to the gods, just in case they cared enough to hear, then leashed up Drogon.  She looped the leash around her wrist and hand a couple times for extra support.  The last thing she wanted was Drogon jumping on Jon while there was a saw between them.

Jon picked up the saw and angled the pipe against the fence to give it some support.  Then, he looked to her.  “Ready?”

She groaned softly, feeling like she was about to throw up her omelet.  “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Jon started up the saw and laid the blade against the copper pipe.  The sound of grinding metal made her grimace and it wasn’t hard to convince Drogon she was afraid of it.  He could feel her tension and when she said his name in her best scared voice, he immediately went into protector mode, yanking on the leash and growling and barking like a mad dog at Jon.  Right away, Jon shut off the saw, set it down, and stepped gingerly forward to offer Drogon a biscuit.  Drogon accepted it warily and Jon rubbed his ears while he ate it.  “Good boy.  Good guard dog.  Good boy.”

They did it half a dozen more times until Drogon’s response to the saw was immediate and intense without her coaxing, and until he calmed down and accepted his biscuit when Jon stopped the saw.

“There we go,” Jon said, rubbing Drogon’s head appreciatively.  “He’s a smart dog, I knew he’d pick it up fast.  I’m going to run the saw a few more times throughout the day in hopes he’ll react that way naturally now.  If he does, reward him, but don’t let him outside.”

Dany nodded and bent to kiss him on the neck.  “Thank you for doing this.”

“Of course,” he said, meeting her gaze with searching eyes.  “I couldn’t stand for anything less, love.  I don’t know how I’m going to sleep tonight with the memory of getting that call in my head.”

            She thought for a moment, then kissed his neck again, slowly this time.  “I sleep better after you fuck me.”

            “Really?”

            “After you fuck me to within an inch of my life, to be specific,” she murmured.

            His hands moved to her hips and stroked up and down them.  “We might have to test this theory.”

            “I think we should test it tonight.”

            He stood, taking her upright with him, and kissed her slow and gentle on the mouth, his tongue just barely teasing at her lower lip.  “Alright, love.”

            As an afterthought, she said, “Bring your handcuffs.”

            He stiffened, but said, “If you insist.”

 

\------------------

 

            That night, while Jon showered, she stripped down to her transparent violet lace bra and panties, then stretched out on the covers on her stomach to read her book and wait for him.  When Jon emerged ten minutes later wearing nothing but his dogtags and a towel around his waist, she watched in her peripheral vision as he stopped cold.  “See something you like?” she teased, shutting the book.

            “I do,” he said slowly, slightly stunned.  “I see a lot of things I like, actually.”

            She tipped her head and raised an eyebrow at him.  “Like what?”

            Jon exhaled shakily and walked to the edge of the bed, where he ran his fingers through her ice-blond hair.  “Like all this gorgeous hair, loose and flowing.  Those purple eyes that fucking kill me.”  His hand trailed to her lips, his thumb pressing on the lower one.  “These pouty lips that I love to see around my cock.”  His hand trailed down her neck to tease between her breasts.  “These gorgeous tits that fit my hands like they were made for them.”  He reached around her with his other hand and squeezed her ass, making her giggle.  “This gorgeous, curvy ass.  And I bet, if I was on the bed behind you, I’d be able to see that delicious cunt of yours.”

            Dany bit her lip, smiling.  “Did you bring in your handcuffs?”

            “I did.  You sure about that, love?”

            She reached out and grabbed him by the towel, slipping her fingers inside it to just barely touch the tip of his cock.  Jon’s lips parted and Dany smiled in triumph.  “Yes.  And if you start treating me like a china doll because of the last twenty-four hours, Jon Snow, it’ll be you in those handcuffs.”

            Jon grinned crookedly.  “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

            “Good.”  With a tug, she stripped the towel from him and let it drop to the floor.  His cock was already hard and dark pink, standing there so silky and gorgeous surrounded by inky curls.  She sat up quickly, catching his cock between her lips before he could back away.  Jon groaned and she sucked hard on him as she slowly released him.  “Better get your handcuffs, then, Officer Snow.”

            Jon shook his head, backing away and stepping towards his clothes, from which he pulled his handcuffs and the key.  “You are a naughty girl to the bone, aren’t you?”

            Dany’s smile widened and she shifted back on the bed to lay on her back as she watched his perfect ass, his powerful legs, his toned, scarred chest, and his mouthwatering cock.  “Maybe.”

            He knelt on the bed and crawled up it to lean over her, his eyes black with lust.  His dogtags dangled over her chest, tickling between her breasts.  “No, not maybe.  You are.”  He held up the handcuffs, smiling wickedly.  “Put your hands above your head, love.”

            She stretched out her arms above her head, arching her back to press her breasts up into his chest.  Jon groaned and leaned down to kiss her cleavage, then turned to the task at hand, snapping one cuff around her right wrist, looping the chain around one bar of the headboard, then clasping the other cuff around her left wrist.  “How’s that?”

            She tugged on her hands.  The metal didn’t bite into her wrists, but she wasn’t going to slip out of it either.  “Good.”

            “I want you to say something if you change your mind.”

            Dany stared up into Jon’s dark, molten eyes, and said softly, “I trust you, Jon.”

            He smiled, then kissed her lips slow and sweet.  Gently, he drew her lower lip into his mouth and tasted her, then slipped his tongue into her mouth where she waited for him.  She kissed him back harder, deeper, their tongues tangling and tasting.  Her hands ached to run through his hair or dig into his shoulders and when the tug of the handcuffs kept them back, a space deep below her stomach warmed and twisted.  Jon ran a hand through her hair, pulling a lock forward to lay over her body.  “Your hair is so long.  I never get to see it like this.”

            His dogtags were just barely tickling her cleavage again and she ached with wanting to reach out and touch him.  Jon raised an eyebrow at her and smiled.  “What’s the matter, love?”  Dany squirmed under him and Jon’s smile widened.  “This reminds me of the other night when I got to tease you.”  He settled over her with his legs tangled in hers, pinning her down.  Her lower muscles clenched and seized and her hands tugged on the cuffs again.  Jon leaned low over her, nuzzling her nose with his.  “I’m going to make you want to touch me so bad you scream,” he whispered.

            “Jon…” she moaned.  “Touch me…please…”

            There was a soft tickle at her nipple and her back arched in response as he drew circles around it with his fingertip, the lace between them sending a thousand tiny sparks through her nerve endings.  “Like this, love?”

            “Gods, Jon…”

            His hand left her, trailing along her skin to her navel, then down between her legs.  “Or like this…?” he murmured, softly pinching her already-swollen clit through her panties.

            She cried out softly and her eyelids slammed shut.  “Fuck, Jon…”

            “Gods, Dany, you’re already so wet,” he said, slipping one finger inside her panties to tease around her center.  She squirmed and tried to buck underneath him, to get his finger inside her for some relief, but his legs tightened around hers and kept her pinned down.  She opened her eyes to find him smiling smugly at her and he waved a finger at her.  “Ah, ah, ah…my handcuffs, I’m in charge.”

            “One of these nights it’s going to be you in these handcuffs, Jon.  Just remember that.”

            His grin widened and her mouth fell open in an “O” as he pumped two fingers inside her, stretching her so her breath stopped for a moment.  “I’ll keep that in mind, love.”

            He pumped harder and faster, his fingers curling upward to tease her G-spot as she moaned and whimpered.  When his mouth found her breast and bit at her nipple through her bra, she cried out and Jon chuckled softly.  “Don’t tell me I need to gag you too, love,” he whispered mirthfully.

            “Don’t you dare,” she hissed through gritted teeth.

            “Alright.  Then you be quiet.”  And then a moment later, she felt his tongue circle her clit and she cried out again, fighting against the handcuffs and driving herself even madder with lust.  When he sucked on her clit, she nearly screamed and he did cover her mouth with his free hand, chuckling as he did it.  “If you scream like that, love, Drogon’s going to break down the door and kill me.”

            She shook her head to free her mouth and moaned, “Then fuck me.  Please, Jon, I need you.  Please…”

            Jon kissed her lips to silence her plea, drinking her in until she gasped for air.  “Alright, love.  But I promise that’s not going to make you stop screaming.”

            She felt his hands on her again, and then his cock pushed inside her.  Her mouth fell open in an “O” again at the pressure and the pleasure.  His legs were still outside hers pinning her down and the angle at which he entered her made every inch of his cock press against her clit, all the way inside her.  She found herself struggling against the handcuffs again, her eyes shut tight, a scream in her throat as her muscles clenched.  “Oh gods, Jon,” she whimpered.  “Oh gods, please, Jon please, oh please, Jon…”

            He had started out moving torturously slow, but at her pleas, he sped up the pace, pushing in and out of her, every movement rubbing against the inside of her clit.  Her release came hard and fast, crashing through her, and she buried her mouth in the crease of her arm to muffle her screams.  Jon didn’t slow down though, and the orgasm dulled only for a moment before rising into another even larger one.  Jon buried his face in her neck, his growled curses in her ear as he came inside her, his body suddenly stilling, his hands clasping her hips like a lifeline.

            She was just starting to find air to breathe again and was opening her eyes drowsily when Jon unlocked the handcuffs and set them on the nightstand, then took her by the hands and kissed her wrists.  “Oh, love,” he murmured, “If I’d have known you were going to fight them that hard I would’ve said ‘no.’”

            Dany looked to her wrists and the red marks ringing them.  A corner of her mouth tilted up in a smile and she said, “Well, I hope those marks stick around for a few days.  I want to remember that.”

            Jon looked to her sharply, then a similar crooked smile curved his mouth and he leaned down to kiss her lips.  “I love you, Dany.”

            “I love you too.”  She took her hands from his and ran them through his soft, luscious curls.  “And I was serious, those cuffs are going to be on you pretty soon.  Karma is coming for you.”

            Jon laughed and kissed her again before answering, “I expect it is and I expect I’ll enjoy it at least as much as you did.”


	12. Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recognizing the high level of angst in the last few chapters and the amount of stress poor Dany and Jon have been under, this chapter is rather fluffy. If you prefer angst to fluff, it will return before long.

The next day at one o’clock, she was sitting in the waiting room of Women’s Care of Winterfell, rubbing the rings around her wrists in hopes that those memories would ease the nausea in her stomach.

            She had to do this.  She had to know for sure and she had to take action.

            The door leading to the exam rooms opened and a nurse stepped into the waiting area.  “Daenerys Targaryen?  Dr. Stark will see you now.”

            Her blood ran cold.  _Stark?_   Which Stark was a gynecologist?  And how in the hell was she going to survive having this conversation and being examined by someone she knew?

            The nurse recorded her height and weight while she shook, then led her into an exam room.  She waited for what was probably five minutes but felt like five hours, her clasped hands shaking the whole time.  Finally, the door opened and a beautiful brunette with flowing curls entered, smiling warmly.  “Daenerys!  I haven’t seen you since high school.  How have you been?” Margaery asked, taking a seat on the stool in front of the computer.

            Dany blinked in shock.  She hadn’t known Margaery Tyrell well in school, but she certainly hadn’t expected to see her here.  “Um…I’ve been okay.  I hear you’re a Stark now.”

            Margaery blushed.  “I’m married to a Stark who’s married to the military.  Robb’s supposed to be home on leave next week, though, so that will be nice.  What brings you here today, Daenerys?”

            Her blood pressure began to rise and she answered with a slightly shaky voice, “Well…I don’t know if you’ve had a chance to look over my chart…”

            Margery’s brow creased and her eyes softened in sadness.  “I did.  I understand you had a miscarriage two years ago, a late-term one.”  Dany nodded.  “That must have been awful.  I’m so sorry for your loss.”

            “Thank you.”  She shut her eyes for a moment to steel herself, then carried on.  “I expect my record also says that the doctors who treated me said it would be impossible for me to carry a child to term again.”

            Margaery frowned deeply and turned to log into her computer, then click through a few screens.  “Well, I see that you were diagnosed with an inhospitable womb, which suggests it would be difficult for you to take on and carry a child, but I wouldn’t say impossible.”

            The world went silent.  “Excuse me?”

            With another sad frown, Margaery looked back to her.  “Dany, a miscarriage, especially one as traumatic as yours, absolutely increases the risk of future miscarriage, but it doesn’t mean you can’t have a child.  When you’re ready to try for a baby, there are homeopathic things we can try to make your womb ‘more hospitable’, so to say.  A healthy diet high in antioxidants and fiber, for example.  And, of course, there are fertility treatments that would be an option.  If you’re concerned about carrying the baby to term, again there are things we can do to ease your pregnancy and help you along.  I understand that your miscarriage was not random.”

            Tears pricked Dany’s eyes, but they didn’t fall.  Her whole body had gone numb with shock.  “No.  I fell down the stairs trying to save my husband’s life.”

            Margaery nodded severely.  “Now, if you had in excess of three miscarriages, I would be concerned.  But if not for that traumatic event, there’s no reason why you would have failed to carry your baby to term.  If it would put your mind at ease, I could give you an exam, make sure everything’s as it should be.”

            Dany blinked away the tears and nodded.

            “Okay.  I’m going to step out for a moment so you can get undressed.  You can keep your top and your socks if you like.”  Margaery reached out to squeeze her hand, then left the exam room.

            _I wouldn’t say impossible_.

            All these years of pain, all these years believing herself barren, a childless mother, and it hadn’t been true. 

            She struggled to undress with fingers that shook and didn’t respond properly.  Finally, she sat on the table with a sheet across her lap, wishing like hell that someone was here with her.  She wanted Jon’s hand in hers, his whisper in her ear that this was good news, that it wasn’t worth doubting or getting confused or angry over.  She soothed herself by remembering his promise that she could have a child again, one way or another.

            Margaery knocked on the door and entered, that warm smile still on her lips and in her green eyes.  She washed her hands, then put on gloves.  “So, what brings you in now after two years?”

            Dany swallowed hard and watched her knuckles whiten.  “Well, I’m seeing someone for the first time in two years.  I was worried about birth control…I couldn’t survive another…miscarriage.”

            Margery frowned sadly and shook her head.  “Oh, sweetie.  I’m so sorry you’ve spent all this time thinking that that’s all there would be.  Let’s get the exam over with and then maybe it’ll sink in a bit that everything is fine.”

            Dany laid back on the table, tears in her eyes, and let Margaery work while she tried to remember Jon’s lips on her forehead, her cheek, her neck.  She flinched when Margaery started and grimaced at the pressure she placed on her lower belly.  “I can feel your ovaries here,” Margaery said.  “All normal.  Everything is normal with your cervix and from what I can tell your uterus.  Nothing out of the ordinary at all.”  The pressure ceased and Margaery removed her gloves, then helped Dany sit up again.  Margaery laid soft hands on Dany’s shoulders and said soothingly, “Everything is fine.  If you want a child, I can help you have one.  Whenever you’re ready.”

            The tears fell then and Dany buried her face in her hands.  “Oh gods.  I can have a baby.  Gods…”

            Margaery hugged her softly and normally Dany would have shied away from the contact, but this time she let it happen, letting the warmth and comfort seep into her.

            Jon’s words came back to her.  _I promise there will be another little one that will fill your heart back up._

           

\------------------

 

            When she got home, Missandei was sprawled on the couch snoozing with a book open on her chest and Jon was in the backyard with the dogs.  Drogon had been responding well to his training with the saw and the other dogs had picked it up from him.  Now, Jon appeared to be trying to get Rhaegal and Viserion to teach Drogon to walk nicely on leash.  The result was Drogon sitting and growling while Jon argued with him and the other dogs ran circles around the two.  Dany couldn’t help a smile as she put in the security code and walked out onto the deck, watching with amusement.

            “Drogon,” Jon said in his most threatening voice.  “Get off your ass and walk.”

            Drogon growled at him and remained on his ass.

            “Drogon, I’m warning you.”

            Dany shook her head and kicked off her shoes, then walked down into the yard, enjoying the feel of the grass under her feet.  Jon looked up and watched her approach, lifting his arms in exasperation.  “I don’t get it.”

            Dany smirked.  “I do.  Give me the leashes.”

            Jon handed them over and stepped back, watching carefully.  Dany bent down to eye level with Drogon and petted him under his chin.  The big black pitbull began to pant and let his tongue loll.  “Who’s my big, tough boy?  Who’s my handsome boy?” she cooed to him.  Drogon whined happily and began to wag his tail.  “Should we walk?  Let’s walk.”

            Drogon leapt to his feet and began to walk, Rhaegal and Viserion following in his wake.  Drogon still tugged on his leash fiercely, but the other two didn’t thanks to Jon.  “Ooh, good boy Rhaegal.  Good boy, Viserion.  You boys walk so nice.  Good boys.”

            Drogon peeked at her over his shoulder and she changed direction sharply, the way she’d seen Jon do.  Drogon watched her and kept pace.  When he began to tug again, she led the three of them back in the other direction and Drogon paused in confusion, but hurried to lead the pack again.  It took a good twenty minutes to get it right, but eventually the three dogs walked together, bumping against one another, and Drogon kept careful pace, always watching for the next turn so he could lead his brothers.

            Dany asked the dogs to sit.  When they all did, she thanked them and passed around kisses and pets while she unhooked their leashes.  “Good babies.  Go play!”

            She stood up and watched the dogs run and roll in the grass.  Jon approached her and took the leashes from her, rolling them up.  “You know them so well.  I wouldn’t have known how to get him to do that.”

            “Drogon and I have a very specific arrangement,” she said.  “He’s in charge all the time, unless I ask him to let me be in charge.  Then he bows to me, but he’s still in charge of the other two.  We share the alpha role.”

            “See, that’s so strange, but it works.  You’ve taught me something.”

            Dany smiled at him.  “Stranger things have happened.”

            Jon reddened and a shy smile met his lips.  “I didn’t mean it like that.”

            She stood up on her toes and kissed his sweet lips.  “I know you didn’t.”

            They walked up to the deck together and Jon set the leashes on the railing.  “Where were you?”  Jon asked.

            Her hand went to her belly, completely unbidden.  “I had a doctor’s appointment.”

            Jon noticed her hand on her belly and his eyes widened.  “Is everything okay?  What were you in for?”

            She took his hand to soothe him and a little smile curved the corner of her mouth.  “Everything’s fine.  Better than fine.”

            Jon looked like a deer in headlights.  “What do you mean?”

            Dany met Jon’s worried grey eyes and let a full smile break out.  “Jon…I can have children.”

            Jon blinked in shock, then his face broke into a massive smile and sparkling dark eyes.  “Really?  You got a second opinion?”

            She nodded.  “It wouldn’t be easy, exactly.  But not impossible.”

            “Gods…Dany,” Jon grabbed her in a fierce hug, clutching her to his chest and lifting her right off her feet.  She laughed and he laughed with her as he spun her around and set her down, clutching both of her hands in his.  “Oh gods, Dany, that’s wonderful.  I’m so happy for you!  Wow.”

            Dany stood up tall and kissed him, long and slow.  When she released him, she said to him, “Thank _you_ , Jon Snow.  If not for you, I never would have known.”

            “I want to take you out tonight,” Jon said, laying his hands on the sides of her face, his fingertips sliding into her hair.  “I want to celebrate, just us.”

            Warmth bubbled inside her chest and she nodded. 

            At five o’clock, Dany picked up Irri from the bank and listened to her complain about Baelish creeping on the tellers the whole way home.  “I swear,” Irri complained, gesturing wildly.  “If I didn’t need this job so damn bad, I’d sue his weasely ass.  Dany, are you listening to me?”

            Dany jerked to attention and nodded.  “Yeah, of course.  Sorry, I’m just distracted.”

            Irri dropped her arms.  “Oh no.  What happened now?”

            Dany smiled and turned onto Third Street.  “Nothing bad, for once.  Jon’s taking me out tonight.”

            “Oooh, getting some quality time with Jon, huh?” Irri crooned, grinning excitedly.  “You deserve it.  Where’s he taking you?”

            “He didn’t say.”

            “Highgarden is nice.  I went on a date there once and it was so amazing.”

            Dany sighed.  “Irri, Highgarden is the most expensive restaurant in Winterfell.  Sansa told me there isn’t an entrée under thirty bucks a plate.”

            “And there isn’t a wine bottle under fifty,” Irri agreed.  “But it’s so nice and they really make an experience out of it.  You and Jon have had a rather stressful experience as a couple so far and you deserve something nice.”

            When they pulled into the driveway, Jon was fiddling with something above the front door, Ghost sitting nearby watching the ladder he stood on with unease.  Dany frowned and cut the engine, then she and Irri came around to the front door to check things out.  When they stepped up onto the porch and she could see around Jon, Dany’s eyes widened.  He was installing a security camera.

            “Hey Irri.  How was work?”  Jon said, not turning his gaze from the drill he was using to hang the camera.

            Irri seemed as stunned as Dany.  “Um, fine.  Not horrible.  Is that a camera?”

            “Yep.  It runs on batteries and sends the image to my phone via wifi.  Every time someone steps in front of it, my phone will go off and show me a picture of whoever it is,” Jon explained, lowering the drill and testing the stability of the camera.  “It’ll probably be all pictures of us, but if Craznys or some other asshole shows up on here, we’ll have them red-handed.”

            Dany blinked in shock, struggling to decide which of the many emotions she should voice.  A part of her was miffed that he was putting holes in her porch without talking to her about it first.  That part was also miffed that those holes were for a camera of all things on her porch.  Another part of her was impressed that he’d come up with this and loved the idea of taking a video of Viserys trying to break in to court.  A third part of her loved that he had as much energy as her when it came to home improvements and liked the idea of him helping her with projects like this all the time.  Finally, she asked, “Does this image only go to your phone or can it go to mine too?”

            “It’ll go to yours too.  I’ll download the app for you tonight.”  Jon stepped down off the ladder and folded it up, making Ghost stand up and grin in relief.  He set down the drill and turned to kiss Dany once on the lips.  “Sorry I didn’t mention anything, love.  It was something I came up with at work today and I remembered it while you were gone and decided to just get it done so it’d be up tonight.  I hope that’s okay.”

            Dany sighed and stood on her toes to kiss him back.  “It’s okay and it’s a very good idea.  Just let me know next time you want to drill a hole in something?”

            Irri snorted and mumbled under her breath, “That was really close to a great innuendo.”

            Jon snorted too at that and smiled crookedly, cupping Dany’s face in his palm.  “I will absolutely make sure to let you know next time I want to drill something.”

            “Thank you,” Dany said, ignoring Irri’s laughter.  “Are we still going out tonight?”

            “Of course.”  His smile warmed and his dark eyes turned molten.  “Why don’t you go get changed and dolled up?  I’ll put this shit away and follow.  Irri, can you let me in?”

            “Will do,” Irri said as she opened the front door, mouthing _Highgarden_ to Dany as she went.

            Dany raised an eyebrow at Jon.  “I’m getting dolled up?  Where are you taking me, Snow?”

            Jon smiled knowingly and kissed her one more time.  “Somewhere nice.  We _are_ celebrating.”

            Her cheeks warmed and she entered the house with butterflies in her stomach for the first time in forever.

            It took some effort to subdue the pits, but after their initial demands for pets, they consented to follow Dany upstairs to the attic.  Irri also followed, talking the whole way, and Missandei followed her, frowning in confusion.  “Jon’s taking Dany out _somewhere nice_ ,” Irri hissed to Missandei in glee.

            Missandei smiled and hurried to catch up.  “Really?  Where?”

            “We don’t know, but I’m hoping it’s Highgarden!” Irri squealed.

            Dany rolled her eyes, but her own giddiness made it impossible for her to bear tempering Irri’s excitement.  In the attic, Dany pointed to the bathroom as she crossed the room to her closet and said, “Irri?  Could you find my curling iron and plug it in please?”

            “Oooh…” Irri cooed.  “Curls?  No braids?”

            “Maybe a few braids.  He told me he likes my hair loose.”  She began rifling through her tiny closet as the dogs took over the bed and Missandei hovered in her peripheral vision.  A sudden thought crossed her mind and Dany looked to Missandei in confusion.  “Do you think I should wear a dress?”

            “Yes!” Irri called from the bathroom.

            Missandei giggled and stepped forward to help her look through the closet.  “He did say ‘nice’ and you don’t really have any pants that aren’t jeans, do you?”

            “You’re right, I don’t.  I haven’t worn my dresses in ages, though.  I don’t know if they’d even fit right.”

            “Well, there’s one way to find out!” Irri said, vibrating with excitement as she returned to the bedroom.

            “Irri, aren’t you supposed to let Jon in?”

            “Ugh, fine.  I’m coming back, though!”

            With help from Irri and Missandei, Dany found a dress in the back of her closet that did still fit perfectly and didn’t have any painful memories of Drogo associated with it.  It was dark blue with delicate beaded patterns on it and a high neckline above a cut-out that would just barely show her cleavage.  It had an open back too, and was cut in a sheath style that hugged her hips and bust just right.  With the dress chosen, Dany brushed out her braids, curled her hair into loose waves, and tied new braids to just barely reign in her silver locks.  Missandei found her pair of black strappy heels and it was done.

            When she descended the final loop of the stairwell, Jon was waiting for her in the foyer.  He was in black jeans, black shoes, and a black button-up with the top three buttons undone and he was smiling like he had no clue how sexy he looked.  “Hey beautiful,” he said.  “Want to go out with me?”

            Dany paused three steps above him and a stupid grin lit her face.  She couldn’t help looking at him and how gorgeous he looked and how sweet his eyes promised he’d be tonight.  “I would love to.”

            He offered her his arm with a crooked smile and she accepted it, taking those last steps down into the foyer.  “Where are we going?” she asked.

            “You’ll see.”

            Dany smiled, then a pang hit her gut and she turned around to Missandei and Irri watching them from the stairs, both smirking.  A horrible fear gripped her heart that something would happen while she and Jon were gone, but before she could even speak, Irri held up a finger to stop her.  “Ah, ah!  We know.  The house is all secure again, we’ll do the security code when you leave, we have four guard dogs, and we’ll call the cops and then you if anything remotely suspicious happens.  It’ll be fine.”

            Missandei made a shooing gesture and grinned at Dany.  “Go have fun!  We’re fine.”

            She met Jon’s gaze again and the love and mirth and lack of worry in his eyes shattered her cares.  After a final goodbye, Jon led her out to his truck, opened her door for her, and helped her in.

            He did take her to Highgarden.  The inside of the restaurant was large and open with a mezzanine level that looped around the whole interior.  They were seated at a table for two on the mezzanine, looking down over the busy restaurant below.  The railing was intricate wrought iron with greenery hanging down over them in a Mediterranean style. White linens adorned the tables and chairs.  The table was set with no less than eight pieces of flatware per setting, two wine glasses per setting, and a small candelabra off to the side, casting a warm glow on the table.

            “Jon,” Dany whispered as he pulled out her chair for her.  “This is beautiful.”

            “You’ve never been here before?”

            She sat and he pushed in her chair for her, then moved around the small table to sit opposite her.  “No, I haven’t.  Have you?”

            He shook his head.  “Robb proposed to his wife Margaery here, though, so I knew about it from their stories.”

            Dany stiffened, hesitating on whether to say anything, then figured she should at some point.  “I ran into her today.”

            “Oh?”  Jon frowned, then his face cleared in understanding.  “Oh.  She’s your new gynecologist?”

            Dany nodded.  “She’s really sweet.”

            “She is.”

            A waiter dressed all in black approached and offered them menus.  “Welcome to Highgarden.  Thank you so much for joining us this evening.  Our special tonight is our scallops Provencal with champagne risotto and for our appetizer special we have oysters Rockefeller.  What can I start you off with?”

            Jon looked up from what appeared to be the wine menu to give Dany a long look.  Then, he said to the waiter.  “We’ll take a bottle of the Chappellet Signature cabernet, please.”

            “Excellent choice, sir,” the waiter remarked, retreating.

            Dany raised an eyebrow at Jon, checked the wine list, then looked back to him with wide eyes.  “Jon.  That’s a seventy-dollar bottle of wine.”

            Jon set down his menu, put his elbows on the table and smiled in amusement.  “Yes, and I hope it tastes like a seventy-dollar bottle.  It sounded like a good one.”

            Dany’s eyes popped.  “You just spent seventy dollars on a wine because it sounded good?”

            He shrugged, smirking.  “I’m not a wine person, but I know you are and I know you won’t let an expensive bottle of wine go to waste.  So, you enjoy the wine and I’ll enjoy carrying you up those crazy stairs later.”  She was about to rebuttal when Jon reached across the table and took her hand in his, stilling her.  “Dany.  I’m ten days late taking you on a proper date and we’re celebrating something really important.  Please relax and let me spoil you.”

            She forced herself to relax as the waiter returned with the wine and poured for them, then deposited the bottle and asked for their order.  Jon ordered Coq au Vin and Dany ordered the scallop special.  The last time she’d had scallops had been in Essos a thousand years ago and a million miles away.

            They talked about the things they hadn’t had the time to talk about before.  Jon told her about joining the army with Robb, about going through basic training together and then following different paths when Jon went on to Ranger school.  Ghost had been a graduation gift from the Starks, who had also given a dog to Robb.  Robb’s dog Grey Wind was on tour with him now, but according to a very proud Jon, he wasn’t half as good as Ghost.

            Dany talked about college and her brief stint in law school, about long hours studying, eccentric professors, and beautiful libraries.  She told him about deciding to open the House, about house-hunting for just the right property and about the nightmare getting all the legal pieces squared away had been.  She told him about meeting his coworkers, Jaime, Arya, Brienne, and Greyworm, when they’d come to the House on business.  Greyworm had delivered a battered Missandei to her showing more emotion then she’d seen from him in any other setting, to which Jon replied in surprise that he’d never seen Greyworm show emotion at all.

            As they talked, they drank the wine, which did taste like a seventy-dollar bottle of wine, and every time her glass got low, Jon refilled it with a smirk.  At one point, she shook her head and asked him, “Are you trying to get me liquored up?”

            “Of course not.  I’m much too honorable for such a thing,” he answered, his grey eyes sparking with mirth.

            The food was phenomenal, her scallops and risotto rich and luscious.  When the waiter returned to collect their finished dishes, Jon ordered a chocolate soufflé for them to share and Dany melted.  When the waiter was gone, she took a deep sip of wine and smiled at Jon.  “You do know the way to my heart, don’t you?”

            Jon grinned and sipped his wine.  “I know that you’re a woman who appreciates quality food and drink and I know that you’re also a woman who never indulges herself.  The rest was details.”  Dany uncrossed her legs and stretched one foot out until it found Jon’s knee on the other side of the table.  Very slowly, she curled and uncurled her foot, teasing at his inner thigh.  Jon raised an eyebrow at her and smiled knowingly.  “Did I get you liquored up, love?”

            Dany shrugged.  She did feel a little tipsy, but not drunk.  It was more of a warmth from all of the sweet comfort and luxury the night had brought and the fact that he’d gone to such lengths to please her.  Sitting there in his black button-up with his black curls pushed back from his face, holding an expensive glass of red wine, he looked so sexy it hurt.  She could not wait to get him home and in her bed.  “I wouldn’t say I’m liquored up.  But I am looking forward to getting home tonight.”

            Jon’s smile turned knowing and he reached down to catch her foot and halt her teasing.  Before he released her, he eyed her strappy shoe with hungry eyes, then shifted forward to whisper to her in a low, rough voice, “I’m looking forward to that too.  I’m looking forward to seeing you in nothing but these shoes.”

            The chocolate soufflé was divine and brought on images of licking warm chocolate off of a naked Jon.  She’d lost track of how many times he’d filled her wine glass and when that image came to her, she reflected that she probably was liquored up.  Jon paid the bill without letting her so much as see it, then finished his wine and took her hand to help her out of her seat.  She was more than a little tipsy and suddenly regretting wearing such tippy shoes and having been seated on the mezzanine level.  Jon chuckled as she took her first few steps, though, and immediately fell in beside her with an arm secure around her waist.  “I’ve got you, love,” he murmured in her ear.  “Don’t worry.”

            He helped her into the truck and drove back to the House with his hand on her bare inner thigh the whole way.  Dany could feel her insides twisting and warming with want as his fingers just barely drew patterns on her leg.  When they finally reached the House, Jon helped her out of the truck and into his arms.  He didn’t seem to mind her weight in the least and they laughed as he carried her up to the house and she dug in her purse for her keys.  The dogs barked and rooed in outrage at the intrusion and Jon set Dany down so she could hurriedly put in the security code while the four dogs circled them, slobbering them with kisses and whining in need.

            When the dogs settled down, Jon scooped Dany up again and carried her up the winding stairs.  Her head swam with dizziness, but Jon was sure-footed and wasn’t even breathing hard under her weight.  When they reached the attic, Jon deposited her gently on the bed and she laid back, sinking into the mattress.  “No sleeping just yet, love,” Jon said, smiling down at her.  “I’m going to have my way with you first.”

            “Mmm…” Dany moaned.  She reached for the back of her neck and undid the hooks pinning the top bit of her dress, then she slid her hands behind her back to find the zipper.  “And what way would you have me?”

            She sat up as she unzipped the dress, watching Jon’s face as the dress pooled at her waist, leaving her bare-breasted.  She loved the way his eyes widened and darkened, the way his head tilted forward just slightly in focus, the way his lips parted just a bit like he was looking on something he’d like to taste.  Finally, Jon extended a hand towards her and helped her stand, letting the dress fall into a pile at her feet.  “Well,” Jon said lowly, his eyes raking over her hungrily.  “Those lovely shoes of yours make us about the same height.”

            Dany raised an eyebrow at him, smiling indulgently.  “I suppose they do.”

            Jon laid his hands on her hips and spun her around him so she was flat against the wall.  His lips found hers and crushed them, devouring her and drowning her in need.  Dany moaned and gripped his shoulders tight, matching the force of his kiss and seeking him out with her tongue, goading him on.  Gods, she wanted him.  She wanted him so bad she couldn’t think about anything else, nothing but his mouth on hers, his hands on her body, his cock inside her.  His hands found her breasts and squeezed and teased them, then slid back down her body to the line of her thong, following it over her hips and back down her ass.  Jon squeezed her cheeks and she gasped as he pressed his body tighter against hers, the hardness at the front of his pants firm against her crotch.  She lifted one leg up and hooked it on his, moaning at the feel of his length pressed against her.  Jon groaned and kissed her ever more fiercely, clutching her to him and letting her rub against him.  When she shuddered against him, he groaned and whispered against her mouth, “I’m feeling dishonorable, love.”

            Dany smiled wide.  “Good.”

            That was all the encouragement Jon needed.  With his hands on her hips again, he flipped her around to face the wall.  “Hands up, love,” he murmured.

            She put them up against the wall and her wine muddled brain watched in shock as he latched a cuff around one of her wrists, pulled it behind her back, then latched the other one.  “Where were you hiding those?” she hissed.

            Jon laughed and kissed her cheek.  “Sorry, love, couldn’t resist.  Do you want them off?”

            She thought about if for a moment, then shook her head.  “No.  But don’t you dare tease me this time.”

            She heard a zipper, then Jon whispered in her ear, “As you wish, love.”  Then, he was inside her, his cock stretching her and filling her so her eyes slammed shut and her mouth opened wide.  Jon’s hands slid around her hips to angle her just right and tease at her nub.  The sparks shooting up her nerve-endings had her wet in seconds and he buried himself in her to the hilt, groaning and burying his face in her neck as he did it.  She felt so full and gods, his hands were still on her, and he was pounding into her faster and faster, taking her hard and fast until she was moaning his name.  “Jon…oh, Jon…”

            “Dany…fuck, you feel so good,” he growled in her ear, his breath hot on her neck.

            Gods, she wanted to touch him, wanted to pull him against her and tease him as he did her.  The cuffs bit into her wrists and she whimpered at the need to keep her hands back.  There must be something she could do to get him closer, to get him deeper inside her.  Dany arched her back just a bit more and the next thrust hit her that much deeper, hitting the entrance of her womb.  Jon growled again and the sound sent a ripple of pleasure and need down her spine to her core until her walls were tightening around him and her eyes were squeezed shut again.  “Oh gods, Jon…I’m so close…oh, Jon…”

            Jon growled and thrust into her even harder, offering her no mercy and driving her closer and closer to the edge.  “Oh fuck, love, I can feel you.  Come on, love.  Come for me.”

            She did, her release crushing the air from her lungs and leaving her gasping and moaning.  His lips met hers to muffle her screams and a moment later, his shouts and groans as he came just behind her.  When she came down, she kissed him, warm and wet and drowsy, and he came down with her.  Gently, Jon unlocked the handcuffs and dropped them into his pocket, then laid his hand on her hips and guided her to the bed.  There, he laid her on her back and with great care unclasped her shoes, then tugged off her much-abused thong.  She laid there staring up at him as he undressed, finally climbing into bed after her fully naked.  “Come here, love,” he whispered, settling with his head on the pillows.

            Dany crawled up the bed to him and let him pull the covers over them as she laid across his chest, her head on his heart.  She felt terribly sleepy, but also thoroughly satisfied in every way and deliriously happy as she recalled all of the beautiful moments that made up the evening.  “I love you, Jon,” she whispered.

            Jon kissed her hair and began to carefully unbraid it.  “I love you, Dany.”

            She fell asleep as he finished her braids and ran his fingers through her loose curls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you’re interested, the dress Dany wears in this chapter resembles this one with the exception that it is a sheath style dress and stops at her knees.  
> https://goo.gl/images/ZWCQEx


	13. Forever

            He spent Tuesday morning the same way he’d spent all day Monday, poring over the research Arya had dug up on Viserys Targaryen.  He knew he was on his way to getting hauled into Chief Lannister’s office for focusing too much on one thing and not doing his other duties, but he didn’t care and the other cops weren’t about to call him out on it.  It was a good thing he’d already read through it all a few times, though, because he couldn’t stay focused to save his soul.    

            _Jon…I can have children._

            His brain had been a mess ever since. 

            Jon and Dany had only been romantically involved for a little over a week and a week was worth nothing compared to the expected timelines of relationships now.  Nobody believed in love at first sight anymore, nobody believed in falling for someone overnight, or in knowing that first night that you were with the person you were going to marry. 

            He’d known since he first made love to her, since she’d first opened up to him and let him in.  Jon never said anything he didn’t mean to his bone, so when he told her he loved her, it came from his soul and was a promise that he’d love her forever.  There would never be another woman like her, not as long as he lived.  He had known since then that he was a goner and that was why he’d promised her he’d do everything in his power to make her happy and keep her.

            When she’d told him she couldn’t have children, the worst part was the agony he felt for her when he could see how badly she’d wanted a little one of her own.  Next after that came the fear that this would come between them, that she wouldn’t see their relationship as a permanent thing because she wanted him to go off and have that without her.  There was nothing without her, though, nothing but this empty black hole where his strange, broken life used to be.  She was everything and if she couldn’t have children, then neither could he.  And that was fine if he had her.

            But now…

            Now there was nothing between them.  They knew each other’s demons and had been helping each other through their memories.  And she could have children.  There would be no Dany made of steel telling him to leave and find someone he could have a ‘fuller life’ with.  She had hope now, and a vibrancy she hadn’t had before.  He could already see how much value Dany placed on herself based on what she could be for others and the potential of being a mother made her life suddenly priceless to her and worth living fully without fear of pain and loss. 

            He wanted to marry her.

            And he wanted to kill fucking Viserys.

            He was dizzy from the whiplash he’d been experiencing since she told him the truth.  He had been planning to set up the security cameras today, but when she’d left to pick up Irri yesterday, he’d instantly gone mad with fear of what could happen that night and started on the front porch camera.  This morning when not even Dany’s body curled into his could soothe him, he’d gotten up and set up the back deck camera too, as well as the east and west side cameras that would catch anyone sneaking into the yard to break a window. 

In between the moments of mad fear, he went manic with happiness for her for having the gift of a path she’d wanted so badly to take.  And selfish happiness that it would be that much more likely that she’d let him stay.

            It was a good thing she’d told him when she had, without giving him much warning to fuss and plan their date.  If they’d made plans for tonight instead, he might have done something foolish in the meanwhile and bought a ring.

            If she said ‘no’, he’d lose her forever.  He couldn’t risk their time together by being impatient and selfish, wanting that guarantee that she was his as much as he was hers.  If he scared her by being too forward, he’d be destroyed.

            His mind would spin sometimes about who might come after him.  Chief Lannister, maybe.  Jaime was handsome enough and he was brave.  He had a good job too, and she already trusted him to some degree.  Jon knew that Jaime had been the one to welcome Dany to the community when she set up the House and had been the one to bring Sansa to her when Ramsey nearly killed her and none of the Starks were home.  Or maybe she’d have one-night stands to make herself feel stronger.  He could see that happening and it made him sick.

            Or maybe no one.  The idea of her being alone for the rest of her life made him hurt so bad it made him physically ill.

            “Jon?”

            He looked up to find Arya standing at the edge of his desk staring at him with the most concerned expression he’d ever seen.  “What?”

            She raised an eyebrow.  “You look like you’re about to have an aneurysm.  Are you good?”

            Jon shut his eyes hard enough to hurt and shook his head to clear it.  When he looked on the world with a fresher view, he found Ghost curled up around his legs in misery and Greyworm eyeing him in confusion from across the workroom.  “I’m not having an aneurysm.”

            Arya perched on the corner of his desk, looked down at the pages of Viserys’s life, then looked back to him with a harder edge to her eyes.  “The cameras are up.  If something happened, you would know.”

            “It’s not just that…”

            “What, then?”

            Jon put his head in his hands and groaned.  “Gods, I don’t know.  I’m probably being stupid.”

            “Usually,” Arya said drily.  “What are you being stupid about?”

            He sighed.  “Daenerys.”

            “Yes, you’re being stupid.  Just tell her how you feel.”

            “I have, Arya.”

            “And?”  Arya held out her hands in expectation.  “Does she feel the same?”

            _She probably hasn’t contemplated marriage yet._   “She said she loves me.”

            Arya dropped her arms.  “So, what’s the problem?  Are you stirring up problems?  Mother’s always warning you about how much time you spend brooding.”

            “I’m…probably stirring up problems.”

            He looked up in time to watch her roll her eyes.  “Jon.  She loves you.  Be happy that she loves you and enjoy it a little.”

            “See, that’s the problem, though.”  As soon as he said it, he regretted it and Arya’s gaze hit his face like a searchlight.  He couldn’t look at her as he said softly, “Arya, I want to marry her.”

            “Oh, for fuck’s sake, Jon…” she groaned.

            _How dare she?_   “Arya,” he snapped.  “She’s all I’ve ever wanted.  I didn’t just meet her a week ago, I’ve been in love with her since I was sixteen.”

            Arya put up her hands again, this time in defense.  “Okay, okay, so you’ve loved her forever, blah-bla-blah.  So why are you brooding about it instead of doing something about it?”

            “It’s not that simple.”

            “Yes, it is that simple!  She’s not one of those girls who hates marriage like me.  She was married before and was happy until he died, right?”  Jon shrugged.  “Okay, so she’s not going to say ‘no’ to marriage.  Is she going to say ‘no’ to you?  I find it hard to believe you’ve done anything in the last two weeks or whatever that came up as a red flag ‘this guy’s a creep.’  Right?”

            Jon raised an eyebrow at her ironically.  “Nothing except propose after only being with her a week.”

            Arya narrowed her eyes at him.  “I’m not saying you should propose to her tonight, dummy.  Put out some feelers first.  Be patient.”

            What the hell did that mean?

            She must have interpreted the look on his face, because a moment later, she sighed, put a hand on his shoulder, and said, “Be sneaky.  When she does something amazing, off-handedly say you’re going to marry her someday and see how she reacts.  Talk to the girls she lives with about her and see if they know where she is on this.  Take other ‘serious steps’ and see how she reacts.  Buy her a piece of jewelry that _isn’t_ a ring.  Take her on more dates.  Ask for a drawer in her dresser.  Shoot the creepozoid brother you think’s stalking her.  Etcetera.”

            Jon tipped his head in thought and let his mind wander, turning over Arya’s suggestions.  There were other steps he could take, things he could do to make her happy and figure out ‘where she was’ as Arya put it.  He didn’t have to propose tonight.  He could take his time figuring her out and do it when he knew she was ready.  “You’re right.”

            “Good.  Now start working before Lannister kicks your ass.”

           

\------------------

 

            When he got to the House, which he’d already started to think of as ‘home’ far more than his sparse apartment, he heard voices in the backyard.  He and Ghost walked up to the gate in the fence and knocked.  “Hello?  Winterfell Police.”

            Laughter erupted and a few moments later, the gate opened and Dany appeared smiling broadly.  He hardly got a chance to look at her before she had her arms around her neck, her legs around his waist, and her mouth on his.  It took his breath away and he wrapped his arms around her more on instinct than rational thought.  Gods, she tasted good, like steaming hot chai, vanilla, and sugar.  He parted her lips with his and drank her in, starving for her.  She caught his lower lip between her teeth and the blood began to rush from his extremities straight to his cock.  “Careful, love,” he murmured.  “I’d like to keep some of my dignity when I walk through there.”

            Dany giggled and it was the sweetest damn thing he’d ever heard, enough to make his heart race with giddiness.  She released him and found her feet, now flushed as well as smiley.  “If you insist, Officer Snow.”  She took his hand and walked ahead of him into the yard, tugging him along.  “How was work?”

            Work was shit that he didn’t want to think about now that he was here.  She was wearing these little denim shorts that barely covered her gorgeous ass and was barefoot again, something he found surprisingly endearing.  And her hair.  The sides were pulled back in four braids that met in a braided bun that resembled a rose.  As stunning as that was to try and contemplate, the hair flowing straight down her back wasn’t braided at all, left in loose curls like she’d done it last night.  Gods, he loved her hair, silvery-blond and so soft and smooth. 

            And he loved that she let him run his fingers through it, let him undo her braids where once she’d knotted them up so someone else wouldn’t rip her hair out.  He didn’t know if she thought about it, but he did.  Maybe she thought of them differently now, thought of the braids as something that made her feel in control.  But now, he saw them and only thought of wanting to lay in bed with her and unravel them until she felt loved.

            “It was fine.  I had to help with the after-school traffic, so that was a nightmare.”

            Dany laughed and locked up the gate behind them, then watched as Ghost made a beeline for where the pits were calmly laying in the grass at the foot of the deck.  Drogon jumped up to all fours just in time for Ghost to pile-drive him into the grass and send them both ass over teakettle.  _Ah, fuck, Ghost._   Jon gritted his teeth and prepared for hell, but when Ghost and Drogon righted themselves, they spent several heavy seconds in a stare down, then Drogon lunged for Ghost and pulled the exact same move, rolling them both over in the grass like puppies.  Jon exhaled in supreme relief as Dany laughed and Rhaegal and Viserion joined in, leaping and ducking and rolling.  For a moment, he’d been sure Drogon would see the move as an attack or an insult and a fight would start, but the big black pit had surprised him for what felt the hundredth time.  He knew dogs, but he might never understand that dog the way Dany, and apparently Ghost, did.

            Dany tugged on his hand and when he looked to her, she was smiling reassuringly.  “It’s okay.  Ghost and Drogon wouldn’t hurt each other.”

            Jon walked with her slowly towards the deck.  “What makes you so sure?”

            “Because neither of them are ‘just dogs,’ Jon.  They think in a different way.  And whatever they might not have in common, they do have the same goal.”

            “Which is?”

            “To keep you and I safe and happy.”  She looked at him with those deep amethyst eyes and gave him a little, knowing smile. 

It was a good thing that little box in the side pocket of his cargo pants didn’t contain a ring, because he was tempted to propose right there, to tell her he had that same goal.  Instead, he gripped her hand to stop her and kissed her once on the mouth, just a short kiss, but one that caused her to stumble and grip his hand right back.

“Gross!  PDA!” Sansa called from the deck.  Jon gave her a half-hearted glare, which brought on another chorus of laughter from Sansa, Irri, and Missandei, who were seated around the patio table.  A plate of some baked good sat on the table, surrounded by mugs of tea.

Jon and Dany ascended the stairs and Dany reclaimed her spot at the table while Jon leaned over her and grabbed what on closer inspection looked like a cookie off the plate.  “Did you make these?” he asked Dany.

“Mm-hmm.  Chai cookies.”

He bit into it and found an explosion of sweetness and spice.  Vanilla, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, sugar, molasses, ginger, coriander, and half a dozen other flavors he couldn’t name twisted around in a flood of flavor.  He didn’t even think about it, the words just came to him.  “Will you marry me?”

Laughter echoed around the table and his eyes snapped open to find Daenerys bright red, her smile tight, but her purple eyes swimming with emotion and a thousand thoughts he couldn’t unravel.  “Not if all you want is my cooking, Jon Snow.”

He had to play this off.  He smiled crookedly and shrugged, taking another bite of cookie for courage.  “Well, that’s just the reason that comes to mind _right now_.”

“Oooh, and what _other_ reasons might you think of, Jon Snow?” Irri asked, her voice slanted with excessive innuendo. 

Missandei and Sansa howled in laughter and Dany rolled her eyes.  Then, holding Jon’s gaze, she said, “That’s between Jon and me, Irri.  Thank you for sharing your thoughts, though.”

            He looked to Missandei because he eyes were the only ones he thought were safe right then.  “So?  Which of the world’s problems are you ladies solving?”

            Missandei pointed to the security camera aimed at the back door.  “We’re wondering when the extra cameras happened.”

            “This morning, before I went to work.”  He frowned.  “You girls are heavy sleepers, aren’t you?”

            “I heard you,” Dany said, her eyes narrowed.  “I thought we talked about you putting holes in my house without asking.”

            Jon sighed.  She was right and he was an ass.  “Sorry, Dany.  It was for a good cause.”

            “I think it was for your over-worried mind, Jon Snow,” she said gently, taking his hand and kissing his knuckles.  He squeezed her fingers to confirm that while the other girls chuckled.

            “A cop who doesn’t sleep much is going to be a very tired protector,” Missandei said, one eyebrow raised.

            Dany squeezed his hand.  “She has a point.  You need to get some decent sleep, Jon.  You’re always giving me shit for not taking care of myself…”

            “That’s because you don’t, love,” Jon said, cutting her off and meeting her eyes again.  He held her gaze for a moment, studying her, then ran the pad of his thumb under her left eye.  The shadow there was well hidden by makeup, but he knew exactly what it was.  “I expect you’re not sleeping any better than me.”

            Irri snorted.  “Well, we all know what the problem is, then.”

            Laughter erupted again and Jon rolled his eyes, but forced a good-natured smile.  “Yeah, alright, ha ha.  I’m going to go shower, now.  Can you let me in, love?”

            Dany got up, releasing his hand, and walked him to the door.  She stepped inside with him and keyed in the security code as she shut the door.  “I’m so sorry about that.  She really has no filter.”

            Intentionally or not, Irri had actually shifted the subject away from marriage for him, so he wasn’t about to begrudge her anything.  “It’s alright, love, I have a thick skin.”

            She sighed and turned, walking him to the stairwell and away from any prying eyes.  “No, you pretend to have a thick skin.  I know you better than that, Jon Snow."  She eyed him curiously, her violet eyes peering right through his thin skin.  She frowned sadly and laid a hand on his chest.  “Jon, what’s going on?  Something’s bothering you.”

            He shut his eyes in hopes that she wouldn’t read him like a damn book.  “Come upstairs with me, love.”

            The worried look on her face got worse and she followed him hesitantly.  He couldn’t bear to see her like that when there really was nothing wrong, so he said to her, “What’s been bothering me is that when I drew you that bath a couple days ago I didn’t get in the tub with you.”

            “Hmm…”

            In the bathroom upstairs, she ran a hot bath, dumping in extra helpings of her bath oils, and found a stick in the drawer that he initially took for a pen but which ended up being a hair stick with a dragon on the end.  He watched as she easily wound her hair around her hand, then piled it on her braids and stuck it in place using that one stick.  She bent to check the water and Jon slid his hands across her hips as he whispered in her ear.  “Not too hot.  You’ll scald me.”

            Dany blushed and turned the water down a bit.  She smiled at him and her eyes flashed playfully.  “Well, we’d hate to scald your pretty skin, Jon Snow.”  Then, she began stripping off her clothes, starting with her t-shirt, which went over her head and ended up in a pile on the floor, leaving her standing there in a dark purple bra that did wonders for her cleavage.  Then, she was holding his gaze as she very slowly shimmied out of her shorts.  The purple panties she wore weren’t see-through like others she’d worn, but they were much smaller and the elastic threads that arced up her hips hinted that it wasn’t a thong at all, but a G-string.  “What’s the matter?  Cat got your tongue?” she asked.

“Cat?” he choked out, the word sounding rough and foreign on his tongue.  “More like a dragon.  I am in so far over my head.”

Daenerys laughed and kicked off her shorts, then caught the hem of his shirt and tugged it up.  “Come on now,” she said.  “Fair’s fair.”

He sighed, smiling nervously, and helped her pull his shirt over his head.  Then, he carefully removed his dogtags and set them on the bathroom counter.  Dany watched him, then asked, “Do you always wear them?”

“I always wear them at work and to and from,” he said, his eyes caught on the tags.  He’d thought they would have been taken by the bastards who tortured him, but they didn’t bother to take them off him before B team arrived.  “The rest of the time it depends on how I feel.”

She laid a hand on his cheek and drew his eyes back to hers.  He could see in her gaze that she wasn’t teasing him now, she meant it when she asked, “And how do you feel now?”

He swallowed hard, then answered honestly.  “I feel like I want to be in that tub with you on top of me.”

Dany smiled and kissed him, then turned and shut off the water.  Jon took a deep breath, then removed the little rectangular box from his pocket.  Dany’s eyes went wide and she watched the box very carefully as he laid it on the counter by his tags, then proceeded to finish undressing.  “Jon.  What is that?”

“Don’t worry about it.  You’ll get it after our bath.”

Her eyes met his.  The sexy dragon was completely gone in favor of a nervous little girl.  “It’s for me?”

Jon tilted his head at her.  _Who else would it be for?  What the hell had happened to her self-confidence?_   “Of course, it’s for you, love.  And it’s not a ring.  Relax.”

“It’s not a ring box,” she said, still looking like a deer in headlights.

“No, it’s not.”  This was not one of the reactions he’d imagined.  He dropped his boxers and stepped forward to take her by the hips and kiss her.  “Do you want it now?”

Dany looked back to the box, then nodded.  Jon grabbed the box and offered it to her, then took her hips again, stroking them to try and soothe her.  She opened the box and her violet eyes popped at the bracelet inside.  It was silver, like her lovely hair.  In the center there were three amethysts cradled between two arcs of silver studded with diamonds.  Another arc of silver supported the bracelet, meeting the diamonds where the sides of her wrist would be.  Two chains stretched the rest of the way, hooked together in a little silver disk and dangling freely. 

“Those marks on your wrists won’t last forever, love,” he said softly, removing the bracelet from the box for her and passing it over her hand when she offered it in stunned silence.  “So, I got this for you instead.  And when you wear it, I want you to think of me holding you tight, like this…” he tightened the chains so the bracelet clasped her tiny wrist.  “…and I want you to remember that I’m not letting go of you, whatever happens.  I love you too damn much.”

            “Jon…” she gasped.  He looked to her face and saw the tears in her eyes.  His stomach dropped.  _Please let this be a good thing._   “It’s beautiful.  Gods, Jon…you spoil me so.”

            He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead, inside screaming in relief.  “You deserve it.”

            Dany swallowed hard and said in a shaky voice, “My wedding ring from Drogo…that’s the only jewelry I’ve ever been given by a man.  He always bought me flowers, but flowers just wilt and die.”

            He wanted to hunt down every man who’d ever had a chance to buy this woman jewelry and punch them in the face for failing.  Instead, he took her hand and ran his thumb along the edge of the bracelet.  “Well, love, this won’t be the last piece of jewelry you see from me, I can promise you that.”

            Her eyes snapped to his and held for a minute, then swam with tears.  “Jon…”

            He would not watch her cry, not now.  He took her face between his hands and said softly, “Do you remember when I said I’d make you so happy you never wanted to leave my side?”  She nodded.  “How am I doing so far?”

            “Gods…”  She broke free of his grasp and kissed him forcefully, devouring him and consuming him.  When she was done, her lips brushed his as she whispered, “Jon, you’ve made me happier in the last few weeks than I’ve been in my entire life.”

            His heart soared.  She did feel it too, that warmth, that _rightness_ when they were together, that happiness that they could give each other when much of the world before had been in shades of grey.  He kissed her back, parting her lips and tasting her.  She was his and he was hers and he was never letting her go.  Never.

            He owed Arya so big for her advice.

            When they were both stumbling and Dany began to giggle softly, Jon broke the kiss and said, “Let’s get in the tub, love.”

            They did and Dany straddled his legs to gently wash his body, his face, his hair, as he had hers.  When she finished, she shifted towards him and straddled his length, which was rock-hard from her attentions.  “Someone is enjoying their bath,” she said with a sly smile.

            “Of course, I am,” Jon said, not missing a beat.  “You’re in here with me.”

            Dany grinned and eased herself up onto his tip.  His lips parted in hunger and in surprise at feeling her wetness.  Very slowly, she lowered herself onto him, her smile fading and her lips parting as she did it.  She laid her hands on his shoulder for support and he groaned at the feel of her so damn tight around him, gripping him as she eased down.  When she fully sheathed him inside her, her found her hips under the water and gripped them, unable to help digging his fingertips into her soft flesh.  Dany moaned softly and the sound made his cock twitch inside her with need.  Slowly, he moved her up and down on him, watching as her eyes drooped and fell shut, as her head fell back, exposing that beautiful neck of hers.  “Jon…” she moaned softly.

            He moved his hands up her body slick with water and oils and she kept moving, pumping him slowly in and out of her.  When he cupped her breasts and traced her areolas with his fingertips, she paused and gasped, then moaned softly.  Gods, he would never grow tired of that sound.  He wanted to hear it over and over for the rest of his life.  His hands wandered back down to her hips, then to her thighs, his thumbs sliding down between them.  She twitched at his touch, then moaned again as he moved past her soft mound, down to her clit.  Her fingernails dug into his shoulders and she stopped moving, caught up in his attentions.  “Jon…”

            He pinched her clit softly between his thumbs and rubbed her until she flung her head back and cried out, until she was nearly screaming his name, holding her down on him so he could feel every spasm of her muscles as she came, clutching him like she couldn’t bear not to have him inside her.  He loved that feeling and the look on her face so much, he kept going after she’d come down.  “Jon…” she moaned.  “Jon, please…”

            “You have another in you, love,” he murmured.  “Look at me.”

            “I can’t,,,”

            “Look at me, love.”

            She met his gaze with violet eyes dark with lust and release.  Gods, he loved that look.  He held her gaze as he stroked her mercilessly until he began to feel her muscles clench again, and then she was moaning his name, gasping it, and fuck, he ate it up.  He loved her so damn much, every inch of her, every sound she uttered, every thing she did, gods, he loved her and he loved the way she felt releasing around him.  He came hard and fast under her, grabbing her and kissing her to give his mouth something to do other than curse. 

            When it was over, Dany collapsed onto his chest, gasping for air as hard as he was.  He could feel the chains of her bracelet draped along his shoulder and smiled, wrapping his arms around her.  Forever, that was how long he was going to hold her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who were hoping for a birth control conversation, I'm sorry. It's in the next chapter, I promise. I thought it would be here, but Jon had other ideas.
> 
> If you're interested, this is the bracelet he gives Daenerys: https://www.zales.com/amethyst-110-ct-tw-diamond-three-stone-bypass-bolo-bracelet-sterling-silver-95/p/V-20052666


	14. Dracarys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not to pat myself on the back, but I think you guys are going to be happy with this one. It's my new favorite chapter for a couple reasons. Let me know your thoughts in the comments! The next chapter will be in Jon's perspective and may be up as soon as tomorrow.

            Over the next few days, she only took off the bracelet long enough to sleep and found herself stroking it or spinning it around her wrist constantly.  The girls had all admired it in amazement when she’d shown it off, including a stunned Sansa.  They didn’t know that it meant the world to her, though.

            There had never been a man who cared so much for her.  Drogo had loved her in his way and she had loved him in hers, but there had never been this level of caring, of wanting to make her feel good even when he wasn’t there.  There hadn’t been this level of desire to please for the sake of pleasing or to protect so she felt safe, not so he felt strong.  She’d never been with someone half as altruistic as Jon Snow.

            She kept thinking of the strange look in his eyes when he’d jokingly asked her to marry him.  There was something more to that, but what she didn’t know.  It had made her think about him that way, though.  Would she marry Jon Snow?  With all his kindness and gentleness, his protective rage, his strength and reassurance, his demons and his ability to help her fight her demons?

            Yes.

            But they’d only been together two weeks.  She was a fool if she thought that he would propose at any point in the near future.  Thinking about it now would only cause her heartache as she waited and wondered.

            There were other things she was wondering about, too.

            The birth control pills sat unopened in her bathroom drawer.  It seemed such a miracle that she could get pregnant now and carry a child that it seemed strange and wrong to contemplate using birth control to prevent that miracle.  And she wasn’t sure how Jon would feel about it.  They’d never talked about birth control despite the fact that they’d been fucking for two weeks now.  He seemed very serious about her, and it wasn’t just the bracelet that made her think so.  He’d promised her that she’d have a little one.  He’d joked about marriage and she still hadn’t managed to interpret the look in his eyes immediately afterward, but it definitely wasn’t a joking look.  He’d talked about making her so happy she didn’t want to leave him and about not going anywhere.  Would he be as happy as her if she were to get pregnant?  He’d been so happy for her when she told him she could and he knew how badly she wanted it.

            Was now the right time?  With someone haunting the House, sawing open doors?  With girls in the House who desperately needed her?  With being in a fairly new relationship with Jon?

            Did she care about those factors?  Or did she want her little one so bad, she’d figure it out?

            She felt like she should talk to Jon about all this.  But she was scared of his reaction.  It was so early to talk about babies, so early it wasn’t even funny.  Would she freak him out?

            She could just stay the course, not take the birth control and see what happened.  She’d never brought up birth control, but neither had he.  She obviously wasn’t the first woman he’d been with, surely he wouldn’t be too shy to say something if he was concerned.  But was that fair?  She’d be taking his say in the matter away from him and that didn’t seem right.

            No.  She would need to talk to him about it.

            She didn’t feel like she could talk to Sansa about this, Jon being her brother and all, so on Friday while Jon and Irri were at work, Dany and Missandei sat on the back deck together, the dogs sunbathing on the deck nearby.  Despite the fact that it was Labor Day weekend, the weatherman had promised that this might be the last pleasant day of the summer, with rain forecasted for the next week amidst a rapidly-dropping temperature. 

            Dany sipped her tea while Missandei stared at her.  “What’s going on, Dany?” she finally asked, giving up on waiting.

            Dany set down her tea mug and folded her hands in her lap.  Rhaegal sensed her tension and got up to lay his big head in her lap and let her rub his ears.  “Two years ago, I was told I couldn’t have children.”

            Missandei frowned sadly and reached out to take Dany’s hand.  “Oh…I’m so sorry.”

            Dany squeezed her hand and said uncertainly, “Well…I hadn’t gone back on birth control after that.  I figured why bother.  But now with Jon, I thought maybe I should go on it again because I couldn’t bear to somehow get pregnant and then lose it.”

            “Oh gods, Dany.  That’s so awful to think.  What did you do?”

            “I went to the doctor to go back on birth control…and, instead, I was told that I could have children after all, it just might be difficult.”

            Missandei’s eyebrows shot up.  “Wow.  That’s amazing.  Is that what you were so happy about early in the week?”

            Dany nodded.  “Except now, I have these stupid birth control pills and I can’t decide if I should use them.”

            Missandei frowned.  “Well…you said it would be difficult to get pregnant.  So maybe not taking them and just accepting that it’s a possibility would be the way to go.”

            “That’s what I thought, but I wonder if I should talk to Jon about it.”

            Missandei raised an eyebrow and smiled crookedly.  “Jon?  Jon that asked you to marry him the other night?  Jon that bought you that gorgeous bracelet?”

            Dany shrugged and looked down at Rhaegal.  “It’s kind of early to talk about babies.  I don’t want to freak him out.”

            “Gods, Dany.  No.  You could not possibly freak him out unless you do something to push him away like suggesting going on birth control!” Missandei exclaimed.  Dany met her dark eyes in surprise and Missandei gestured to where Jon had been standing when he’d ‘proposed’ to her on Tuesday night.  “Did you miss the look in his eyes when we asked you to marry him?  It was like he’d just spilled his biggest secret and was hoping no one noticed.  I think he bought you that bracelet because he wanted to get you a ring and thought it was ‘kind of early.’”

            Dany frowned.  “You think he wants to marry me?”

            Missandei sighed.  “Of course he wants to marry you.  He practically worships you.”

            “He does not.”

            Missandei crinkled her face in disbelief.  “He calls you ‘love.’  He moved in with you to protect you the first time he sensed a threat.  He gushes at everything you do and is always fussing over you taking better care of yourself.  He trained your dogs and put in your deck and all you had to do was ask once.”

            That was all true and did suggest that Jon was bordering on worshipful of her.  Missandei didn’t even know how he was with her in bed, which would only add to the list.  Did he want to marry her?  “In any case, wanting me is not the same as being okay with knocking me up.”

            Missandei raised an eyebrow.  “Something tells me that’s not entirely true.”

            _I promise._   More than once she had talked with him about her barrenness and more than once he had promised she could still have a child.  Who would promise that but balk at the slightest chance of getting pregnant?  “Maybe you’re right.”

            “If I were you,” Missandei said carefully, “I would throw those pills away and be happy with what you have.  I can guarantee you, a conversation with Jon about being pregnant would go much better than a conversation about preventing pregnancy.”

            Dany shut her eyes and tried to imagine both conversations.  She didn’t want to take the option away from Jon, but knowing him as she did, including knowing that he could be a bit insecure at times, the thought of suggesting to him that they go on birth control made her stomach knot up.  On the other hand, she couldn’t imagine a situation where he wouldn’t be happy to hear she was pregnant.  Missandei was right.

            That night, she dreamt that she was walking through the House at night, stepping through patches of moonlight and shadow.  She was pregnant, about as far along as she’d been with Rhaego when she lost him.  She could feel the babe kicking inside her and cradled it with her arms.  Then, Viserys was there, that wide grin slanting across his face, his voice echoing in her head.  _Sweet sister…how I’ve missed you._   And then, he was holding the knife he’d used on her all those years ago, and plunging it into her belly.  Ice-cold pain sliced into her and she screamed for her baby, whose life was pouring from her as he stabbed her again, again, again, again…

            Dany awoke with a gasp and sat bolt upright in bed, gasping for air and shaking.  Her skin was cold and slick with sweat, but she couldn’t bear to lay back down under the covers where Jon’s body would keep her warm.  The dream would be more real there. 

            Drogon whined and got up, then padded to her side of the bed to lay his head beside her.  She extended a shaky hand and gestured to him to climb up.  He leapt onto the bed with surprising softness, none of his usual arrogance, and laid his front feet across her lap and his head against her belly.  She wrapped her arms around his thick neck and stroked his head softly, allowing his warmth and the velvet smoothness of his coat to soothe her.  “I love you,” she whispered to him.

            There was a twitch beside her, then another.  She looked to Jon and noticed a crease at his brow and watched as his head turned from one side to the other.  Another nightmare.  Carefully, she reached over and laid a hand on his cheek, stroking his face with her thumb.  Jon’s eyes snapped wide open and he gasped for breath like he was returning from the dead.  Maybe, in a way, he was.  “Shh…” she murmured.  “It’s me.  You’re here with me, Dany.”

            Jon shut his eyes and inhaled deeply, his breath rattling, then exhaled and took her hand in his.  “Fuck.  Thank you, love.”

            She squeezed his fingers softly.  “Of course.”

            Jon opened his eyes and looked over at her, sitting upright dripping sweat with a dog across her lap.  Jon frowned and sat up on his elbow.  “Were you already awake, love?  Are you okay?”

            She swallowed hard, hating that the nightmare wouldn’t quite leave her mind.  “I’m okay.  I had a nightmare too.  Drogon is nursing me.”

            “Oh, love,” Jon sighed, sitting slowly upright beside her so he could wrap an arm around her and lean his head on her shoulder.  The moonlight glinted off the half-healed scars on his chest and for a moment, her nightmare was gone in favor of his screams echoing in her head as they scrubbed salt into his wounds.  Softly, Jon kissed her collarbone, then asked, “Do you want to talk about it?”

            Dany shut her eyes and sighed too, shaking off the awful imaginings.  “I dreamt…that I was pregnant…and then Viserys was there and he…stabbed me…in the belly.”

            “Gods, love.”  Jon tightened his arms around her and laid a soothing hand on her very tense abdominal muscles.  “I swear to you, love, if he ever gets within sight of you, I’m going to kill him.  That bastard is never going to touch you again, certainly not when you’re pregnant.”

            _When, not if._   She tried not to say anything, but couldn’t ignore it when she had spent all week thinking about the possibilities.  “You seem sure I will be pregnant.”

            Jon met her eyes with a deep frown.  “What do you mean, love?  The doctor said you could and I know how badly you want that.  I know you said it’d be difficult, but when you’re ready, we can figure it out.  That is what you want, isn’t it?”

            And she’d been worrying about going on birth control.  She was such a fool.  Dany wrapped her arms around Jon and kissed him, soft and warm and sleepy.  “Yes,” she whispered.  “I want that more than anything.”

            “Good.  Because I want that for you more than anything,” Jon said, kissing her back.  His mouth moved slow and warm against hers, drinking her in and draining the worry and pain from her until there was nothing but him.  What had she done to deserve this kind-hearted, selfless man who would set aside his life for her?

            Jon’s hands moved over her, sending warmth seeping into her back, her sides, her chest, her belly, everywhere he touched.  She wanted more of that, more of his hands on her, his mouth on her, she wanted to feel his love in her very veins, in her very soul.  She gave Drogon one last loving pet, then broke from the kiss to say, “Drogon.  Down, boy.”

            Jon’s mouth moved down her throat to her collarbone, placing hungry kisses all along her skin.  When Drogon grumbled softly and clambered down off the bed, Dany turned to Jon and straddled him as he kissed her chest, drawing one breast into his mouth while he stroked the other soft and slow.  She kissed his hair and wrapped her arms around him, holding him to her as her heart raced.  “Jon…” she gasped.

            He murmured a soft “Hmm?” against her skin and his hands floated down to cup her hips.

            Dany sighed, drunk on the feel of his mouth and his hands all over her.  Gods, she loved this, loved it more than anything.  She never wanted to give up what it felt like to be in his arms.  She trusted him with her life and he repaid her by cherishing her, by worshipping every inch of her and being so gentle, not just with her body, but with her soul.  The words slipped from her mouth almost unbidden.  “What if I’m ready now?”

            Jon met her eyes then.  His dark grey eyes were molten, his pupils wide and hungry, and his lips were just slightly parted and swollen from kissing her.  “Anything you want, love.”

            She could see tiny children, three of them chasing her three dogs, one with black curls and violet eyes, one with long ice-blond hair and grey eyes, one with blond ringlets and stormy, dark violet eyes.  She could see Jon smiling so hard his eyes crinkled as he laughed with her at their antics, as he kissed her hand with that smoldering look in his eyes.  She could see them having a family, a life together.  A life without all the fear and pain she’d come to know, without all the fighting.  “I want you, Jon,” she said.  “I want you and I want to carry your baby inside me.”

            Jon’s eyes flickered over her, like he was memorizing the way she looked in that moment.  When he met her gaze again, his eyes were gleaming with unshed tears.  “Our baby.”

            “Our baby.”

            Jon smiled and leaned his forehead against hers, nuzzling her cheek softly.  “I love you.”

            Dany shut her eyes, breathing in the sweet air that floated around them, taking in every detail so she could remember this moment forever.  “I love you.”

            He kissed her then, so slow and heavy that she melted inside.  When she wound her fingers into his hair to kiss him harder and hold him to her, one of his hands on her hips shifted to her back, cradling her.  Then, she was on her back, his arm around her holding her oh so close without crushing her, his mouth enveloping hers, his tongue tasting and teasing her.  She wrapped her legs around him so she could feel his length against her, hot and firm, ready for her.  Her mouth went dry and her center ached with wanting him inside her, wanting him to make love to her until they had no pasts, only their future together.

            Jon groaned at the feel of her and rocked against her until she moaned and whimpered.  “You ready, love?” he murmured.

            “Yes…please, Jon…”

            He pushed inside her just barely, so slow she could feel her walls being pushed apart and her lips parted in an ‘O’.  Jon kissed the corner of her mouth and pushed the rest of the way, filling her until she gasped and her body bowed under him, her back arching up into his chest.  Her hands found his shoulders and dug into them, holding on as he slid out of her and back in, faster this time and deeper.  “Gods…” she moaned.  “Oh fuck, Jon…”

            He kissed the base of her throat, then flicked his tongue out to draw a line up her throat to her chin.  A similar line shot shivers down her spine to her core and she bucked against him, moaning his name.  “Jon, please…”

            His mouth found hers again and she drank him in, desperate for his kiss, his taste, his lips.  As they kissed, he pushed into her harder and faster.  His free hand found her breast and his fingers teased at her nipple until she whimpered and her walls clenched around him.  Jon groaned and stilled for a moment, enjoying the feel of her.  “That’s it, love.”

            “Jon…”

            He softly pinched her and rolled her nipple between his fingers.  If not for his mouth on hers, she would have cried out in pleasure.  “Come for me, love,” he growled.

            The next time he plunged into her, she did come, her head snapping back, eyes shut tight, lips parted in a gasp as her whole body seized and she saw stars.  She recognized the softness of his hand across her mouth and felt the heat of his breath in her ear as he whispered, “Scream for me.”

            She did.  She screamed like mad as she came so hard and so long her legs began to cramp but she didn’t give a damn.  She was just starting to come down when Jon growled and released inside her and the feeling of his pleasure brought her back to that high again. 

            When it was over, she sagged beneath him, limp and drowsy with satisfaction.  Jon groaned softly and laid beside her, using his arm around her to roll her onto his chest.  There, he kissed her forehead and whispered, “Let’s go back to sleep now, love, and have some good dreams.”

            She nodded, then whispered, “I love you, Jon.”

            “I love you, Dany.”

 

\------------------

 

            Over the course of the next morning, she watched Jon go from lazy and romantic to behaving like a caged wolf.  With every hour that passed, he grew more tense and more distracted.  She knew why.  She felt it too, though she bottled it up better for the sakes of Irri and Missandei, and of course the dogs who would go mad if they could read her thoughts.

            It was Saturday and that meant that tonight, Jon would be working third shift, putting him far away from the House.

            Dany couldn’t help feeling, as she imagined Jon did, that whoever had attacked the House last Saturday had done so with some forethought involved, perhaps even going to the lengths of stalking.  That was the only way they would have known Jon and Ghost wouldn’t be there that night.  If that was the case, then odds were good they may strike again tonight.

            That afternoon, Jon put up “Beware of Dog” signs on each side of the house, explaining to Dany that that might save them from a lawsuit if the dogs did attack an intruder.  He also checked the condition of all four cameras and personally checked that all of the first-floor windows were latched.  When four o’clock rolled around, Jon pulled Dany aside and handed her one of her little Post-It notes with a phone number on it.  “If something does happen,” he said, “This is the number I want you to call.  It will go directly to my squad instead of to a 911 operator.  Much faster.”

            Dany nodded, taking the number and sticking it to the back of her phone.  “Okay.  We’ll be okay, though, Jon.  It’ll be fine.”

            He sighed and wrapped her in a fierce hug, whispering in her ear, “Whatever you do, don’t you dare risk yourself.  Promise me.”

            “I promise.”

            She made lasagna for dinner that night, but Irri and Missandei ate little and she ate less.  Irri cracked baudier and baudier jokes in nervousness, but neither Dany nor Missandei had the focus to be offended.  They watched a movie together that night that none of them talked through or fell asleep during.  The dogs stayed wide awake in anxiety, Drogon sitting at the front door like Ghost did when Jon put him in guard dog mode.

            When she awoke at three a.m. to a chime on her phone and the growls of her dogs around her, she felt more relief than fear.  She grabbed the phone and opened the image, which had come from camera three, the side of the house Jon thought the intruder had walked around last time.  A figure clad in black, including a black ski mask, was approaching the house holding what looked like a brick.  She dialed the number Jon had given her and when he answered with his squadcar number, she said, “This is Dany.  There’s a guy with a ski mask and a brick.  I have to go.”

            Dany hung up, shot out of bed, loaded her Kimber with a _snap_ , and dashed down the stairs, the dogs growling and whining at her heels.  As she passed the second-floor landing, Irri’s door opened and she was nearly to the first floor when Missandei’s did as well.  There was the sound of shattering glass and the dogs growled even more fiercely, urging Dany on.  She paused and her eyes darted between Missandei and Irri.  “Lock your doors and don’t make a sound,” she whispered.  Both women obeyed without question.

            She descended the remaining stairs with the dogs and stood on the third step from the bottom, slowly panning from left to right with her Kimber, watching for movement.  The dogs growled threats and moved slowly into the first floor, hackles raised like spikes.  Drogon tipped his head sharply at the other two dogs, then moved towards the kitchen.  Rhaegal went the other way through the living room while Viserion stayed at her heel.

            “Viserys, you sick bastard!” she roared into the house.  “Come out and face me, you coward!  I want to see the look in your eyes when I kill you!”

            There was a scuffle and Drogon roared at the intruder, who cried out and scrambled over broken glass.  Rhaegal followed Drogon through the house at a sprint and Dany and Viserion pushed through the front door, running out into the yard.  The security alarm went off, wailing into the night like a banshee.  Her heart was racing and her blood was pumping inside her skull, but she kept pace with Viserion, never lowering her gun as they rounded the corner of the house.  A dark figure was halfway through the bathroom window, screaming and grunting in pain as he fought Drogon and Rhaegal off.  “Drogon, down!” Dany shouted.

            The figure, a tall man, immediately dropped forward out of the window and landed on his shoulder.  There was a sharp _crack_ and he cried out again.  Viserion looked to her and Dany nodded.  The white pitbull rushed the intruder with silent rage.  The man scrambled awkwardly to his knees and fought to reach his feet, but Viserion drove headfirst into his broken collarbone, sending him onto his back with another scream.  “Viserion, stay!” Dany called.  He did, standing over the intruder with all his teeth bared, growling formidably as if Dany’s word was the only thing preventing him from ripping this man’s throat out.  The other dogs came tearing around the house from the open front door, barking and growling in fury at their escaped prey.  “Stay!” Dany ordered and they stopped in their tracks.

            Dany approached the intruder, keeping her gun trained on his head and well away from Viserion.  He smelled of ammonia, as if at some point in the last minute he’d pissed himself.  “P-p-please!” the man whimpered.  Not Viserys.  She’d know his voice anywhere.  “Oh Gods, please!  Don’t kill me!”

            “Oh, no,” she said darkly.  “I have plans for you.”

            A siren wailed in the night and a squadcar came to a screeching halt at the curb.  There was the slam of a door and Dany shouted towards the squad, “I’ve got him!”

            She turned her eyes back to the whimpering man at her feet and heard the rattle of handcuffs and other equipment as the cop ran to her.  “Gods, Dany,” Jon said, coming to a stop at her side.  “You got him good.”

            “Viserion, leave it,” she commanded.  Viserion lowered his lips and backed off to where his brothers waited, still poised to kill on command.  The intruder whimpered in renewed terror, watching the three dogs.

            Jon stepped forward to crouch between the dogs and the intruder.  “On your knees!” he roared at the man, sounding every bit as dangerous as the dogs.

            The intruder struggled to his knees and wailed at the strain on his collarbone when Jon mercilessly bent his arms back to cuff him.  “P-please…mercy…I beg you…”

            “Is that what you had in mind for those girls?” Jon growled, “Mercy?  Fuck you.”  He jerked off the ski mask, revealing a middle-aged bald man of vaguely Middle Eastern looks.  Jon hissed in disdain and wrenched the man to his feet by the arms.  The man screamed in pain and Jon growled in his ear, “Mo Craznys, you are under arrest for breaking and entering, trespassing, and violation of a restraining order.”

            Dany lowered her gun and realized her hand had begun to shake at some point.  Craznys wailed again as Jon began walking him towards the street, where a second squadcar pulled up.  “G-gods…I didn’t know about the d-d-dogs.  He didn’t tell m-me about the d-d-dogs.”

            Dany’s stomach dropped and Jon jerked Craznys to a stop, no more than two feet from said dogs.  “Who?” Jon snapped at him.  “Who didn’t tell you about the dogs?”

            Craznys was now bawling and too distraught for words.  Jon jerked his right elbow and Craznys cried out again.  “Targaryen!  That was his name!  He told me where to find Missy, said the house was always easier to get into on Saturday nights.”

            Arya Stark came up to them at a jog.  When she reached them, she held up a hand to Jon and said, “Mo Craznys, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to have an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you by the court. With these rights in mind, are you still willing to talk with us?”

            Craznys was staring into Drogon’s death-filled eyes when he whimpered, “Y-yes.  I’ll tell you everything.  Just get me away from these fucking d-d-dogs.”

            Arya took Craznys from Jon and escorted him to her squadcar, which didn’t have a keyed-up Swiss Shepherd in the back.  Dany took a shaky breath, then slid her gun into the waistband of her pajama pants and turned to the dogs.  “Drogon, Viserion, Rhaegal, settle!”

            The dogs looked to her, then seemed to melt slightly until they looked like they weren’t about to leap on someone.  Drogon still looked murderous, though, so Dany bent down before him and carefully stroked his head and ears until he settled a bit.  “Who’s my brave boy?” she murmured to him.  “Who’s my brave, handsome boy?”  Drogon leaned his head into her hands and the look of fury in his expression faded in favor of general agitation.

            Dany stood again and looked to Jon, whose dark eyes were wide with adrenaline.  “I want you to know,” Jon said, “We’re on camera right now, so I’m not going to do it, but I’m really tempted to kiss you.”

            Dany laughed once, feeling a massive weight lift from her shoulders.  “Thanks.  I need to check on my girls.  Where do you want the dogs?”

            Jon raised an eyebrow at Drogon.  “Somewhere their mouths won’t be tampered with.  I’m going to need samples and photos of everything in their teeth right now.”

            Dany stiffened.  “Craznys…could he sue me because of the dogs.  He couldn’t have them put down, could he?”

            Jon held out both hands to calm her.  “Easy, love.  That’s not going to happen.  Craznys seems like a reasonably cooperative guy.  There are ways we can work this so he won’t sue you.  I just need to do my job and collect all the evidence that could be necessary, okay?”

            Dany nodded.  Her eyes burned and when she wiped them, tears came away on her hands.  Just the thought of putting down her beloved dogs about broke her heart.  “Okay.”

            “Let’s go inside now.  Come on, boys!”  The dogs ran ahead of them into the house.  At the front door, Dany hurriedly keyed in the security code, then dashed up the stairs, calling, “Missandei!  Irri!  Come out, it’s alright.”

            Arya helped Jon collect photos of the broken window and where the brick and glass had landed, the small amount of blood on the bathroom floor from where Drogon and Rhaegal mauled Craznys’s legs, and, with Dany’s help, the mouths of all three dogs.  As he picked samples of bloody clothing from Rhaegal and Drogon’s teeth, Jon murmured to them, “Such good boys.  You were so good protecting your mama.  Good job.”  At one point, Viserion nudged him and Jon laughed and told him, “Yes, you did good too, Viserion.  That’s why you’re not getting your teeth cleaned, because you were so good.”

            Arya got statements from Irri and Missandei while Jon worked with the dogs, then they met up in the kitchen where Dany had made coffee and tea for everyone.  They all sat together around the counter while Arya took Dany’s statement, a recording device sitting next to her coffee mug.  It was a lengthy process with Arya pressing carefully for every detail, but when it was done, Jon kissed her on the top of her head and whispered to her, “Good job, love.”

            Arya finished her cup of coffee and put it in the sink, then looked to Jon and Dany.  “Do you have access to the security recordings?” she asked.

            Jon nodded.  “I’ll download them when we get to the station.”

            “Then we should have everything,” Arya said.  She looked to Dany and with an expression that was at once both serious and admiring, she said, “Nice job tonight.  You and your dogs did great.”

            “Thanks,” Dany said, relief flooding her.  It was over, at least for tonight.  Tomorrow would be a new day, likely including a statement from Craznys that Viserys had put him up to the break-ins.

            Jon stood and looked around at Missandei, Irri, and Dany.  “I have to go back to the station.  I don’t expect I’ll be back until the afternoon.  Are you going to be okay here?  Otherwise we can get you a hotel room.”

            Dany looked to Irri and Missandei in question.  She had washed out the dogs’ mouths after Jon finished and now Drogon was sitting at her feet like a sentry, Rhaegal had his head in Irri’s lap, and Viserion had stood on his toes to lay his whole front half across Missandei’s lap.  Missandei smiled softly and Irri laid a kiss on Rhaegal’s head as she answered, “I think we’ll be just fine here.  Thank you, though, Jon.”

            Dany smiled, pride rippling through her, and when she met Jon’s eyes it was a look of overwhelming admiration that she saw reflected back at her.


	15. Making Deals

Thank you to NoOrdinaryLines for the amazing mood board!!

 

 

 

            As they walked out to their squadcars, Jon sighed in relief and said, “Gods.  Thank you, Arya.”

            Arya raised an eyebrow at him, but allowed a half-smile.  “Of course.  I’d hate to see you lose your shield before we’ve had much time to work together.”

            Jon winced, remembering the way he’d been shouting at her over the phone on their way here.  “I’d hate that too.  I couldn’t have managed that without you.”

            Arya smiled proudly and paused at her car door.  “By the way, nice job on the bracelet.”

            Jon snorted, but felt a blush creep up his cheeks.  “You noticed, did you?”

            “Of course, I noticed.  I’ll meet you at the station after I get Craznys patched up.  We have work to do.”

            Indeed.

            The first thing he did at the station was download the footage from that night.  The footage showed Craznys’s arrival all in black, including him throwing the brick.  Then, a minute or so later, the top half of Craznys was struggling to escape back out the same window he’d come in.  If there was sound, he expected he could have heard the dogs barking like mad.  Craznys dropped to the grass a few moments before Viserion ran into the frame, bowling him over with a massive tackle.  “Good boy,” Jon mumbled to himself.  Then, Viserion froze, standing over Craznys like he was guarding his prey.  Dany moved into the frame then, her gun held solidly in her hands.  A few moments later, Drogon and Rhaegal appeared, skidding to a stop at Dany’s side.  After that, it took little time for Jon to arrive, cuff Craznys, and unmask him in view of the camera.  If it went to court, it would be an open and shut case.

            Jon noted a few key still shots and downloaded them, then printed them for good measure.  He needed something besides his fist to throw at Craznys in the interrogation.

            Arya arrived at his desk with the stills she’d grabbed from the printer.  “I like this one of you ripping off his ski mask,” she said.  “I think you should frame it.”

            “I think I should too,” he said, opening up his file on Viserys.  “When’s the last official date we know where Viserys was?”

            “Wasn’t it October of last year?  That was when he left his job in King’s Landing,” Arya answered.

            Jon frowned and flicked through the file, scanning for dates.  “It was.  His lease expired the following January paid up, but when the landlord knocked on his door it had already been cleared out.”

            Arya nodded.  “That’s right.  What was the date on the bank accounts?  Didn’t he clear those out later?”

            “January he cleared them out.  How’s he been getting around on just cash?  And what has he been doing since January?”

            “Well, Craznys knows what he’s been doing for the last month, I’d bet, and that’s what matters most.”

            “How was his hospital trip?  Does he need to sit a little longer?”

            Arya put up her hands.  “You’re on point here, not me.  Another half-hour and Greyworm and Lannister will be here if that makes a difference.  He did fine at the hospital.  That busted collarbone doesn’t need surgery, but the bites on his calves got him twenty-six stitches.”

            Twenty-six.  Not bad, but not as many as Jon would like to give the bastard.  And it did make a difference that they were approaching shift change.  He wanted to make sure they were on point going after Viserys when Lannister showed up, not still bogged down with Craznys and who was suing who.  “Let’s go.”

            They entered the interview room and sat together opposite Craznys, who was facing the camera, grimacing with his arm in a sling.  Arya pointed to the camera and said, “Mo Craznys, I’m going to repeat your Miranda rights to you now.  You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to have an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you by the court. With these rights in mind, are you still willing to talk with Officer Snow and me, Officer Stark, without your attorney present and on camera?”

            Craznys looked between them liked a caged animal, then nodded jerkily.  “I am.”

            “Thank you for your cooperation,” Jon said, picking up Arya’s professional demeanor.  “Under other circumstances, you’d be in a nice cozy cell right now waiting for your lawyer to arrive, but you said something at the scene which caused us some concern.  Can you please repeat what you said to the best of your ability?”

            Craznys swallowed hard, his eyes locked on Jon with something like fear.  “I said ‘he didn’t mention the dogs.’”

            “And can you explain that?”

            “I was t-told that the house would be easy to break into on a S-s-saturday night.  The guy who told me didn’t mention the three big-ass dogs that live there.”

            “What was this guy’s name?”

            Craznys clammed up, still staring at Jon.  “Officer Snow.  He warned me about you.”

            Jon raised an eyebrow.  “I’m the reason Saturday nights are supposed to be the easy night to break in.”

            Craznys nodded.  “He said…”  Craznys swallowed, his eyes going wide.

            Jon gestured at him to continue.  “The camera protects you as much as us, Craznys.  If you’re afraid of me, you don’t need to be when you’re here, not as long as we’re working together.”

            Craznys nodded jerkily, as if that wasn’t a great reassurance.  “He said the blond was your whore.”

            Jon ground his teeth together and Craznys twitched nervously, but Jon nodded stiffly and said, “Thank you for your honesty.  What else did he say?”

            Craznys shut his eyes tight, clamming up again.  Arya said, “He couldn’t have known about Officer Snow but not the dogs.  He set you up to fail.  He gave you that busted collarbone.”

            He twitched and grimaced as if the reminder made the injury hurt that much worse.  “He said there were cameras on the doors, so I should go in through one of the windows on the side of the house.”

            A chill ran up Jon’s spine and he narrowed his eyes.  “There are cameras on the sides too.  He didn’t know about those?”

            “He just mentioned the doors.”

            “Okay.  Did he tell you his name?”

            Craznys locked eyes with Jon again and asked, “What do I get for this?  I got mauled by the damn dogs, I’m giving you information, and for what?”

            Jon tipped his head as if to dodge Craznys’s sudden spark of intelligence.  “That’s a conversation we’ll have with your lawyer and the House’s when they get here.  But maybe if you don’t sue for the dog bites and Daenerys doesn’t sue for her busted window, you can give us the information we need and you can walk away with a slap on the wrist for the restraining order violation.”

            He felt Arya’s eyes on him, but she quickly looked back to Craznys.  Craznys seemed to consider Jon’s suggestion for a while, then nodded.  “If she’s willing to do that, I’m good with it.  Viserys Targaryen, that was his name.  Tall, skinny guy.  White-blond hair to his shoulders.  Kind of an arrogant prick to tell you the truth.”

            “How did you meet him?”

            “I go to these anger management meetings.  My lawyer says it’s a good idea.  He was at one of them and pulled me aside afterward.  Said he knew Missy and how I could find her.”

            Another chill.  Had Viserys gone to the trouble of hunting Craznys down and approaching him to make him a pawn?  “You trusted him?”

            Craznys shrugged.  “It was a therapy session.  It doesn’t work if we don’t trust each other a little.  He told all these stories about his bitch sister and how he hasn’t seen her in years because she hates him.  It was deep shit.”

            Jon’s blood ran hot and he moved his hands under the table while they curled into white-knuckled fists.  Arya picked up the next question without a skip in step.  “So, what?  You went out for coffee?”

            Craznys shrugged.  “A beer.  He said Missy was at the same place his sister was, the House with the Red Door.  Said it’s some kind of shelter for ‘abused’ women or something.”

            Both Jon and Arya bristled at the way he said ‘abused.’  They both knew enough about Missandei’s story to know there was no question that she had been abused.  Jon gritted his teeth and asked, “And when was this meeting?”

            “Tuesday.”

            Jon stiffened and he could feel Arya’s eyes on him when he asked, “Craznys, where were you last Saturday night?”

            Craznys frowned.  “I was out blowing off steam with my buddies.  Why?  That doesn’t pertain to this, does it?”

            Jon wanted to upend the table, he was so furious.  Since apprehending Craznys, he’d thought it might be possible that Craznys had done both break-ins, potentially with Viserys’s prodding.  But no.  That _had_ been Viserys standing in Dany’s house, listening to the alarms going off with a twisted smile on his face, saw in hand.  And he hadn’t been there to shoot the bastard.  “We’ll need their contact information to confirm that.”

            “Sure,” Craznys said, a confused look on his face.

            “Did Viserys say anything else when you spoke?”

            Once more, Craznys looked to Jon in fear.  “He told me that if I talked to you or Daenerys, I should relay a message.  He made me repeat it a few times to get it right.”

            “What was it?”

            “ _Sorry I’m late to welcome you home, sweet sister._ ”

 

\------------------

 

            They had ended the interrogation there.  It was enough that they could move forward with tracking down Viserys and enough that they could put Craznys in his cell to await the descent of the lawyers.  Greyworm and Lannister had arrived while they were in the interrogation room and the chief looked ready to boil over when Arya and Jon entered his office.

            “What the hell were you doing talking to a perp without a lawyer?” Jaime snapped at them.  “I could kick both your asses off this squad!”

            Arya lifted her chin in a tiny show of defiance.  “The perp broke into the House at the Red Door, which is an important site and which was just broken into last weekend.  After I’d read him his Miranda rights at the scene, the perp mentioned someone failing to warn him about the dogs that guard the House.  We felt it prudent to interview him immediately if he consented, which he did.”

            Jaime narrowed his eyes at Arya.  “And you recorded this interview?”

            “Yes.  Sir, he gave us the conspirator’s name.”

            “And?”

            “It was Viserys Targaryen, Daenerys’s surviving brother.”

            Jaime stiffened and looked sharply to Jon.  “Is that why you’ve been poring over that file on him?  Daenerys thought it might be him that broke in last week?”

            Jon nodded.  His blood was still singing with rage towards Viserys.  “Viserys was abusive towards her when they were children and stalked her when she moved away to Essos.”

            “Did Craznys break in last week?”

            “He says no,” Arya answered.  “He gave us contact information for three of his friends he says he was out with during that break-in.”

            Jaime’s jaw turned to steel and he stood.  “Well, let’s get to work.”  He led the way out into the workroom, where Greyworm was waiting leaned against his desk, a severe frown on his face.  “Stark, Snow, I want you to start whiteboards on Viserys.  Where he’s been, everything that ties him to the break-ins or the Winterfell area.  Greyworm, I want you to review the evidence from last night, then make a call to Daenerys.  I want all the residents of the House and their lawyer down here asap.  Has someone given Craznys his call?”

            “Yes,” Arya said.  “He called his lawyer right before I put him in lockup.”

            “Good.  Did he say who his lawyer was?”

            “No.  I didn’t ask.”

            Jaime grimaced.  “Alright.  Then everyone keep an eye out for mysterious lawyers.  If it’s my sister, stop her before she sees anything remotely useful.  No lawyers in the workroom.”

            They got to work, Arya and Jon flipping through their files on Viserys to map out his past and present on the whiteboards.  Everything Craznys had said about him went on one whiteboard, along with the location of the bar on the south side of Winterfell Craznys had gone to with him.  Cersei Lannister arrived within the hour, looking murderous in her blood red blazer, black pencil skirt, and blond hair cut in a slash across her face.  “Where is my client?” she snapped to the station at large when she entered.  Luckily, Greyworm was on his way past after calling Daenerys and managed to intercept her before she entered the workroom, walking her to lockup to see Craznys instead.  Jon cringed at the thought of Craznys having a lawyer as shark-like as Cersei.  Maybe this wouldn’t go as smoothly as he had thought.

            Daenerys, Missandei and Irri arrived not long after.  Dany was wearing black skinny jeans under heeled boots and had her hair in a tangle of easily a dozen braids carefully pinned around her head.  Her jaw was made of iron and when she met his gaze, the only break in her demeanor was in her eyes.  “Where do you want us?” she asked.

            Lannister crossed the room to her and gestured to the same waiting area they’d been in last weekend.  “Why don’t you ladies wait here until Sansa gets here.  Craznys’s lawyer is already here.”

            Irri and Missandei moved to the chairs, but Dany didn’t.  “Did you interview him yet?  What did he say?”

            Jaime sighed and hesitated a moment before answering, “Jon and Arya interviewed him.  He said it was Viserys that put him up to the break-in.  We’re working on tracking him down.”

            Dany nodded stiffly, then joined her girls.

            When Sansa arrived looking every bit as dangerous as Cersei, Jaime gave the lawyers the interview room and sent Greyworm to fetch Craznys. 

            Jon wanted to be in there with them when Dany and Sansa faced off against Craznys and Cersei, but there was no chance of that.  He tried to focus on the whiteboards, looking up every time someone resorted to shouting.  When they finally emerged from the interview room, all four parties looked stiff and angry yet.  He could see simmering rage in Dany’s eyes even from across the room.  She waved to him as she and the girls departed, then Sansa crossed the workroom to him.  “We’re only charging him with the restraining order violation in exchange for him not pressing charges about the dogs.  The restraining order will put him in jail for up to a year depending on the judge.  You have photographic evidence of him on the property, right?”

            Jon nodded and showed her the image of him unmasking Craznys about ten feet from Daenerys.  Sansa nodded appreciatively.  “I’ll talk to Judge Tyrell.  In the meantime, he’ll be sitting in holding.  He doesn’t have the cash for bail.”

            “That’s a good place for him,” Jon said darkly.  “He’ll likely be there until his trial?”

            Sansa nodded.  “He’ll be in cuffs at the trial, which will do wonders for Missandei’s case.  He’ll be going away for a long time.”

            “Perfect.”

 

\------------------

 

            When he and Ghost got home that afternoon, Ghost immediately curled up on the couch and yawned, preparing for a long sleep.  Jon felt the same way and went directly to Dany’s bed, where she laid across him and read her book while he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. 

            He awoke to the sound of cupboard doors and the bathroom door opening and closing.  Dany wasn’t in bed with him anymore, so he rubbed his eyes and sat up, peering across the dim bedroom to the bathroom.  “You alright, love?”

            A minute or so later, long enough for him to worry, Dany emerged from the bathroom.  She had changed into flannel pajama pants and a tank-top at some point and her eyes were devoid of makeup and a little puffy.  Jon frowned and sat upright, holding out his arms to her.  She crawled across the bed and curled up in his lap, letting him wrap his arms around her.  She was so warm and soft, so small and fragile in his arms.  “What is it, love?” he murmured.

            She swallowed hard and said with a raspy voice, “It’s just…my period.  I got it early.”

            A pang hit him in the gut and he shut his eyes tight to control it.  Instead, he focused on rubbing her back and kissing her hair.  “Oh love…it’ll take a little time.  Don’t worry.  We’ll get there.”

            “I know.  It’s just…still hard.”

            He sighed, swallowing the pain, the knowledge that she couldn’t be pregnant yet.  “Let’s get some sleep.  I promise, love, we’ll get there.”

            She nodded and he laid down with his body curled around hers, cradling her in his arms with one hand on her belly.  He was reeling with how sick he felt that there wasn’t a tiny little life hiding somewhere under his hand.

            That night while she slept and he didn’t, Jon unraveled her braids and combed his hands through every inch of her soft hair.  When that didn’t soothe him, he reached for his phone on the nightstand, between his Taurus and her Kimber, and carefully turned down the brightness on it so as not to wake Dany.

            Within an hour, he could feel himself slipping down into the rabbit hole that is the Internet, his head spinning with fertility advice in a hundred different voices.  He had known there was something about women being more fertile at certain times of the month and it stung that they’d been fucking right through that time with no luck.  A website mentioned something about spotting after conception and he wondered if it was possible Dany had mistaken that for her period.  The timing was right.  He spent at least half an hour wading through the different suggestions for diet changes to boost fertility and came to the conclusion that they all boiled down to eating healthy, which Dany did with the exception of her baking habits.  Several sites agreed that high stress could significantly affect pregnancy, which worried him.  Dany’s lifestyle was nothing if not stressful.

            Maybe he could do something to work on that.  What would make her less stressed?  Wrapping up Mo Craznys’s trial in a week and a half would certainly help.  Maybe there were little things, though.  Like leaving her a pot of tea tomorrow morning when he left early for work.  Or helping her cook instead of letting her spin around the kitchen like a tornado.  Maybe there were more things he could do to make the house secure too.  That bathroom window needed replacing asap, obviously.  He’d leave her a note promising to pick up a replacement after work and install it for her.  Baths.  She loved baths.  He’d insist she took one every night before she went to bed.  That would probably help her sleep too.

            “What are you thinking so hard about?” Dany mumbled.  Her eyes were still shut, but her could feel her breathing shifting out of sleep.  “I can feel you brooding, Jon Snow.”

            Jon sighed and set his phone back on the nightstand so he could wrap his arms around her.  “I was thinking of things I could do to lower your stress level.”

            Dany smiled and twined her fingers in his.  “You are too sweet.”

            “I’m going to replace your window tomorrow when I get home from work.  I figure that’s a good start.”

            “It is.”  She shifted back to fit herself tighter against his body.  He shut his eyes and his cock stirred against her ass.  Dany’s smile widened.  “It seems that you have another idea about how to relieve some of my stress.”

            He snorted and kissed her temple softly.  “That does seem like an obvious answer.  I don’t want to make you uncomfortable if you’re not feeling well, though, love.”

            Dany kissed his knuckles and said softly, “I’m feeling okay.  I’d hate to have to replace the sheets, though.”

            Jon chuckled and kissed her hair, then her ear.  His cock stirred again, liking the direction this conversation was going.  “I don’t know about you, but I really enjoyed having you against the wall of your shower.”

            Dany perked up and turned her head to look up at him.  Her eyes were sparkling amethysts and her pretty pink lips were curled into a mischievous smile.  “I enjoyed that too.  You have to work in a couple hours, though.  You should sleep.”

            “Love, there is no chance I would choose sleep over fucking you.”

            Dany grinned and sat up to kiss him, then eased herself out of bed.  “I’ll go get started.  Join me when I get the water on.”

            A smile stretched across his face and he said, “Better hurry.  I’ll be chasing you down before you know it.”

            He did chase her down and was in the bathroom with her as soon as she turned on the water, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her up against him so she laughed and swatted at his arms.  He kissed her neck and drew her earlobe into her mouth to suck it before she broke free, dropping to her feet and spinning around to kiss him hard, devouring him and biting his lip when he didn’t match her pace.  He grabbed her by the ass and lifted her up against him, her legs wrapped around his hips, her wet center pressed against his length.  He carried her into the shower, not breaking the kiss once, and backed her right up against the shower wall, the hot water sliding over them like a summer rain.  He pinned her there hard enough to free one of his hands and slip his thumb down between her thighs, teasing at her until she threw her head back and moaned his name.  “Jon…Gods…oh please…”

            He didn’t relent, drawing tiny circles around her nub, flicking her up and down until she was writhing against him, begging him.  “Jon, please…oh please, I need you…Jon I want you inside me…please…”

            When he drove into her, she was so wet inside and the water running between them was so warm that in one thrust he was sheathed in her to the hilt and they were both gasping.  “Gods, Dany…” he groaned.  “Fuck, you feel so good.”

            “Fuck me, Jon,” she moaned.  “Fuck me, please…”

            He did, driving into her again and again until he had to cover her mouth so she wouldn’t wake the whole house.  She came once, and then once more, her walls gripping him so tight he wanted to bury himself in her and never leave.  When he slid his hand down between her legs and she bit down on his shoulder to stifle her screams, he came so hard all the muscles in his body quivered and it was a battle to keep holding her up afterward when he wanted to collapse.  “Fuck…” he groaned.

            “That was…a new record…” Dany whimpered, gasping between words. 

Jon grinned and his insides warmed at the thought.  “Well, we’ll just have to break it again tomorrow.”

Dany’s eyes popped and she grinned at him.  “Four?  You want to give me four?  I think I’d have a heart attack.”

Jon winked at her.  “I think you’d live.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone has some words of wisdom about getting pregnant, what it's like being pregnant, etc, I'd love to hear it. As I've told a few of you, I've never been pregnant, so I'm a little out of my element as the story moves in that direction. Let me know your thoughts!


	16. You Know Nothing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is on the shorter side, but I know you guys have been waiting patiently the past few days! I promise the next chapter will be longer and include some answers about the investigation, as well as some appearances by minor characters we haven't seen yet. Hopefully I'll have it up tomorrow or Wednesday night.

Thank you to NoOrdinaryLines for the amazing mood board!!

 

 

            When Dany woke, she was surrounded by her dogs and the lingering smell of Jon.  For a long time, she just laid there curled up under the covers with Rhaegal’s head across her belly and drank in the smell of pine, soap, and fresh rain.  It was a chime from her phone that eventually propelled her out of bed.  The real world would not wait.

            There was little more than a week left until Mo Craznys’s trial and Sansa was eager to meet with Dany and Missandei to hammer out details.  Dany replied to her text by inviting her to the House for lunch.  It would be better to have that conversation somewhere M felt safe.

            She got up and brushed her hair, smiling at memories of last night.  It hadn’t occurred to her at the time, but she realized now that Jon must have taken out her braids for her while she slept.  The idea of him doing something so tedious and being so careful about it so as not to wake her warmed her heart.

            Only a few years ago, she had slapped Drogo for tugging on her braids while they fucked.  It had become a huge fight when she refused to explain why she’d done it.  But, for some reason, she didn’t mind Jon playing with her braids.  Not in the least.

            In the kitchen, she found her teapot already steaming with her favorite English Breakfast in it.  Jon, no doubt.  She poured herself a mug and breathed in the steam, soaking up the sweet smell and imagining Jon running his fingers through her hair.

            The dogs broke her reverie by demanding first to be let out and second to have their breakfast.  She bent to their will and as she filled their bowls in the laundry room, she reflected that they were overdue for a laundry day.  She trekked back upstairs and dumped her large pile of dirty clothes and Jon’s much smaller pile down the laundry chute. 

            Back in the kitchen, she freshened up her tea and began prepping some scones.  Today, she decided on strawberry scones because she had some berries in the fridge in need of a home and she had not made them in a while.  She was just cutting the scones and placing them on the cookie sheet when the dogs whined and greeted Missandei at the entrance to the kitchen.  Missandei bent down to greet the dogs and gave Rhaegal a kiss on the head for good measure, then settled herself at the counter in front of the mug of tea Dany poured for her.  “Good morning,” she said.

            “Good morning.  How did you sleep?”

            “Well.”  Missandei smiled, took a sip of tea, then added, “I think I slept better last night than I have since I started dating Mo.”

            “It will finally be over soon,” Dany said, returning to her scones.  “Sansa wants to do lunch with us to talk about trial stuff.”

            Missandei stiffened slightly, but nodded.  “That sounds like a good idea.”

            Dany put the scones in the oven and set the timer.  It was a good idea.  Whatever Sansa said to reassure her, Dany had seen the look in Cersei’s eyes yesterday.  The bitch had an ax to grind.

            Dany would never forget the anger in that woman’s eyes as she leaned over the table at her and spat in her face, “Those dogs are monsters, not pets!  Why shouldn’t my client sue you for all you’re worth?  Why shouldn’t he demand those dogs be put down immediately?  They are a menace to society!  There are children in your neighborhood!”

            “A few days ago, there was a two-year-old in my house and the dogs adored him!” Dany had screamed at her.  “How dare you suggest they be put down!  Your client had ignored the beware of dog signs and broken into my house, the home of a woman he abused and nearly killed.  Thank the gods my dogs attacked him and saved me having to shoot him!”

            Sansa had stepped in then, eventually leading the conversation back to a deal.  It had been Sansa acting as a force of nature that eventually saved the dogs from being put on trial and convinced Craznys to plead guilty to the restraining order violation.  As Craznys agreed to the terms of the deal, Cersei had been eyeing him over his shoulder like he was the dumbest creature that ever walked the earth.  As much as she hated Craznys, the disdain dripping from his lawyer’s eyes was enough to make her cringe.

            Dany and Missandei spent a leisurely breakfast eating scones and drinking tea together, then Dany took the dogs outside to work on some training before the clear skies were swallowed up by storm clouds.  The sun had disappeared by the time Sansa arrived for lunch and as she cooked, Dany watched the sky churn with violet and blue clouds that foretold massive amounts of rain.  They went over question after question, scenario after scenario until Missandei looked like her head would soon explode.  She had just fled the table to start on dishes when there was a knock at the front door.  The dogs ran for the door, barking and howling like hellhounds.  Dany rolled her eyes and left Sansa to get the door.  When she opened the door, Jon smiled in relief and carried the replacement window through, winding his way awkwardly between the dogs.  “Hey, love,” he said.  “How’s it going?”

            “Alright.  You’d better hurry if you still want to do that.  The skies are about to open up.”

            “Yep.  On my way there now.”  He hurriedly shuffled back to the bathroom, calling brief greetings to Sansa and Missandei as he went.

            Sansa packed up her copious notes into a briefcase and looked to Dany.  “Same time on Wednesday okay?”

            “That would be great.  Thanks so much, Sansa.”

            “No, thank you.  Lunch was wonderful.”  Sansa grabbed her in a one-armed hug, then smiled and made her exit, calling over her shoulder, “See you, Missandei!”

            “See you!” Missandei returned, shouting to be heard over the running water.  Dany helped clear the dishes from the table, then realized that the laundry room was silent and made for it.  The clean clothes took a little while to fold and sort; she and Missandei wore the same size top and some pieces were more recognizably hers than others.  Then, she swapped the laundry, started up the dryer, then began loading the washer and adding detergent.  Over the racket of the rather old dryer, she didn’t know he was behind her until she felt hands on her hips and her feet left the ground in a startled jump.  “Shit, Jon…”

            “Sorry,” he murmured in her ear, pressing soothing kisses to her jaw and neck.  His hands kneaded the flesh of her lower belly, her hips, her thighs.  “I didn’t mean to scare you.”      

            She swatted at his arm half-heartedly, then shut the washer and started it.  “Well, you did.”

            He didn’t retract the offending arm, instead wrapping his arms tighter around her and kissing under her jawline until her eyes fell shut and her head tipped to the side to give him better access.  Gods she’d missed him.  All morning her mind had been wandering back to last night, back to his arms around her, his mouth on hers, his hands on her body.  Jon softly bit her shoulder, then said, “Hmm…I could make it up to you.”

            Before her imagination could run wild, she asked, “How?”

            Her kicked the laundry room door shut, then turned her to face him and backed her up against the dryer.  “I have some ideas,” he murmured against her lips.  Then he was kissing her so deep and so fast she forgot to breathe, his hands on her breasts, her hips, her ass, leaving trails of heat all over her body.  She quivered in longing under his touch and he pushed her shirt down to draw her breasts free of it, bending down to kiss them and draw each nipple into his mouth until she squirmed.  “Gods, Jon…” she moaned.

            Without warning, his hands snaked under her ass and lifted her up onto the dryer.  The rumbling of the dryer under her immediately aggravated her longing, making her pant as she felt her lower lips begin to swell and throb.  “Jon…”

            He silenced her with a hard kiss on the mouth, his tongue teasing hers from root to tip, her breath stolen.  As she kissed him back, softly biting the tip of his tongue, his hands found the button of her jeans and undid them, then lifted her off the dryer fast enough to yank her jeans off and let them drop to the floor.  A moment later, his hand was cupping her mound and she was gasping.  “So, this was a good idea.  You’re so fucking wet, I can feel it through your panties.”   He slipped two fingers past her panties and she groaned as they slid inside her.  He was right, she was so wet that her panties were ruined and his fingers slipped right in, making her gasp and clutch at his shoulders when he found _that spot_ deep inside her, the vibration of the dryer making her lose control that much faster.

            Dany dug her nails into his back and moaned, “Jon, please…I want you inside me.”

            Jon curled his fingers in a come-hither motion, making her arch her back and gasp.  “I am inside you, love.”

            A trickle of frustration seized her as her walls clenched around him.  “I want your cock inside me, you stubborn man.”

            Jon chuckled, his voice low and rough.  “If you insist.”

            She hadn’t even noticed that he’d unzipped his jeans, but in a moment his cock was inside her, replacing his fingers faster than she could miss them and stretching her as he took her hard and deep.  She gasped and her hands went flat on his back in shock, then dug into his flesh anew.  “Fuck, Jon…”

            Buried inside her, Jon paused and groaned.  “Fuck that feels good.  You need to let me know when the next laundry day is.  I’ll be waiting.”

            Her hips bucked, but pinned between him and the dryer she couldn’t get any friction.  Instead, she was stuck on the very edge of a climax with Jon so deep inside her she felt like she was splitting apart and with the dryer sending vibrations throughout her body.  “Please, Jon…fuck me.”

            His mouth found hers again, drowning her in kisses as he fucked her, pounding her into the dryer at a merciless pace.  She wanted to cry out, but he kept his mouth locked on hers to quiet her and when she came, her walls clenching and throbbing around him, it was enough that he came too, cursing against her mouth as his seed filled her, leaking onto her panties and thighs.

            When it was over, she found herself too drowsy to open her eyes at first and he kissed her lips and her face slowly, sweetly, to bring her back.  She kissed him back and he murmured in a husky, satisfied voice, “Ready to stand?”

            “We’ll see.”

            He lifted her down to stand on the floor as if she weighed nothing and she staggered on legs made of water.  Jon chuckled and helped her find a clean pair of panties in the laundry pile, then pull on her discarded jeans.  When she was as put-together as she could be, her lips and her cunt still throbbing, Jon kissed her one more time, a crooked smile on his face.  “I came to tell you that your window is done.”

            She laughed.  “That was what you came in here for?  Gods, Jon.”

            He shrugged, looking faintly sheepish with his dark eyes crinkled, a soft blush on his cheeks, and a shy smile on his face.  “Yeah.  But then I saw you bent over the washer and I couldn’t help myself.”

            Dany rolled her eyes but smiled along with him.  “Thank you for replacing the window.  I really do appreciate it.”

            “Of course, love,” he said.  Then, he left the laundry room, presumably to clean up after the window project.

            Dany kicked the door shut again and grabbed her dirty panties.  As she peeled off the pad, she frowned in confusion at the lightness of the spotting on it.  She normally only had her periods for around three days, but this would be a new record.  She had planned to sneak upstairs and put on a fresh pad, but by the looks of things, the fact that her fresh panties were black would be enough to cover her.

            _It could be spotting from a pregnancy, not your period at all._

            No.  She could not afford to entertain that notion, not yet.  She’d lost too much to get her hopes up and have them dashed again.

            There was a rumble of thunder and the rain began to fall.

 

\------------------

 

Jon became quiet that afternoon and when she asked him about it, all he would say was that he hated the rain.  She prayed that it wasn’t something to do with the investigation, something he’d found out about Viserys that he didn’t want to burden her with.  The thought of Viserys getting close to them, or worse, contacting Jon, made her sick. 

As evening descended and the rain still showed no signs of letting up, Jon spread out a file of papers on the dining room table and began to pore over them.  Dany tried to convince him to watch a movie with her and the girls and it took some work to peel him away from his documents.  He relented and curled up on the couch beside her, but as they sat in the dark, she could feel his uneven breaths rattling in his chest and when she looked up at his face, his eyes seemed to be looking right through the tv to something only he could see.  She took his shaking hand in hers and won a moment’s attention from him, but then he was staring off into the distance again.

When the movie ended, Jon insisted that he had work to do and kissed her on the forehead, then returned to the table with Ghost at his heels.  Her stomach clenched and rolled at the thought of him staying up all night avoiding talking to her about whatever it was.

She awoke from a fitful, restless sleep to the pits stirring around her and to Ghost’s whines.  When she realized it was the big white dog doing the whining, all the sleep drained from her and she scrambled out of bed.  “Ghost.  What is it, Ghost?” she asked.

Ghost whined again and nudged her hand, then hurried to the door, where he waited for her.  Was someone in the house?  Was something wrong with Jon?  He had never come to bed.

Dany tucked her phone and her gun in the waistband of her pajama pants, then scrambled to follow Ghost, her anxious feet clumsy on the spiral staircase.  Ghost descended gracefully and the pits loped along behind her.  There were no lights on, but Ghost went to the dining room at a sprint.  Dany’s heart was pounding in her ears, beating blood through her body too fast to absorb the oxygen.  _Jon.  Is Jon okay?_

When she burst into the dining room, the first thing she noticed was that Jon wasn’t sitting at the table.  She tried the light switch, but to no avail.  They must have lost power from the storm.  “Jon?” she whispered.  “Jon, are you okay?”

Ghost whined and she heard a shuddering gasp that sent her scrambling around to the other side of the table, eyes wide.  Jon was curled up in a ball on the floor, one arm around his head, the other around his knees, and he appeared to be gasping for air.

_Oh gods…_

Dany dropped to her knees and pried his arms away from his head and knees, struggling to open up his body from the fetal position he’d locked himself in.  When she reached for his shoulders and tried to make him face her, he fought her and tried to bury his face in the floor.  “Jon,” she said firmly.  “Jon, look at me.”  He shook his head and took another choking gasp.  How long had he been having this panic attack before Ghost came and found her?  “Jon!” she said more sharply.  She cupped his face between her hands and made him look at her.  “Jon, I need you to breathe.  Please breathe.”

He coughed hard enough to make her ribs and throat ache for him, but took in no air.  She reached for his hand and took it, squeezing until he squeezed back hard enough to hurt.  “It’s just you, me, and Ghost here, Jon.  Just us.  We’re laying in our bed together being lazy.  Just holding each other and kissing.  Just like this.”  She kissed him softly on the lips and a jolt ran through him that forced him to take another gasping breath.  “Don’t think about the past.  There is no past now, not for you or me.  It’s just us together.  And someday, there’s going to be another one of us.  Maybe a little boy with those gorgeous black curls and purple eyes.  Maybe a little girl with long silver hair and grey eyes.  Which do you hope it’ll be?”

Jon choked and squeezed his eyes shut tight.  When he opened them, there were traces of tears there.  He squeezed her hand hard again and she squeezed back.  “I need you to breathe, Jon,” she said softly.  Carefully, she laid her free hand on his diaphragm for a long moment, then his ribs, his heart and lungs, his throat.  “These organs are yours.  They’re in your body, under your control.  I need you to control them.  Remind them who’s in charge.  Take a breath.”

He did take one, a shuddery, gasping breath that raked against her eardrums to hear.  “Now hold it!” she said.  He did hold it for a long second, then released it in a rush.  “Good.  Good job, Jon.  Can you do it again?”  He did and she took a sigh of relief.  “That’s great.  Now keep going.”  It took several minutes of jagged, wide-eyed breaths, but finally, Jon regained control and tried to sit up from the floor.  Dany locked her arms around his arms and chest, holding him against her so he didn’t tumble over.  He still held her hand and she squeezed it.  “You’re okay.  I’ve got you.  You’re okay.”

Jon took a shaky breath, then another, and then one more before his eyes flickered up to meet hers for just a moment.  “Thank you…Dany.”

“Of course,” she said softly.  That caged look in his eyes, that fear, made her sick to her stomach.  She knew that look from the inside and knew exactly how he felt.  Vulnerable, broken, weak.  “You did this for me once not so long ago.  Of course, I’d return the favor.  Do you want to tell me what started it.”

Jon swallowed hard and looked down at their hands locked together.  “The rain.  Whenever I hear it, I’m in that hole in Iraq with all that water running down my face.  I was doing okay until we lost power.  Then, without the lights…”

“You were right back there drowning,” she finished for him.  “Gods, Jon, I’m sorry.  You should have said something earlier.  I would have stayed up with you.”

“You need your sleep.”

Her brow creased and she shook her head sadly.  She wondered if he actually understood how much she cared for him.  “Not as much as I need you, Jon.” 

She pressed a kiss to his temple and righted his messed curls with her fingers.  He looked up at her again then, his eyes dripping with vulnerability.  “What did I ever do to deserve you?” he murmured, his voice hoarse.

Dany frowned deeply and kissed his lips before she answered.  “You reminded me that my life is worth something.  I’m a different person today than I was the day you pulled me over, Jon Snow, and it’s because of you.”

“I’m just a boy my parents didn’t want.  Just a soldier who can’t fight anymore.  Just a rookie cop.  My life is nothing without you.  What am I worth?”

She took his face in her hands and made him meet her eyes as she said firmly, “You are everything to me.  Do you understand?  Don’t you dare talk that way about yourself in my hearing.  You parents are Ned and Catelyn Stark and they love you.  You and Ghost were heroes who saved countless lives in Iraq.  And you are the bravest man I’ve ever met who the Winterfell cops are lucky to have.  Without you, I’d still be cringing every time a man got within arm’s length of me.  I’d still think I was barren and never having another chance at a child.  I’d be scared to death of whoever keeps breaking into my fucking house.  The only thing I’m afraid of now is losing you, so don’t you dare think you’re worthless, Jon Snow.  If that’s all you think you are, you know nothing.”

Tears swam in Jon’s eyes, but he didn’t let them fall.  When he spoke, his voice was so raw, it made her heart bleed.  “I almost killed myself once.”

Her stomach dropped and a tear slid down her cheek.  It felt like her world was imploding.  The thought that he might have taken his own life, taken all that they had together now away from them, made her stomach heave and her throat threaten to retch.  “W-what?”

Jon’s jaw clenched, as if it took all he had to say the words without breaking down.  “After we got back.  I was sitting in my empty apartment, back in that fucking box, holding a gun to my head.  I stayed like that for at least ten minutes, trying to find the strength to either do it or put the gun down.  I kept seeing Arya’s face.  Robb’s.  I couldn’t stop imagining them at my funeral.  I put the gun down because I valued their peace of mind more than my life.”

Dany grabbed his hand and pressed his palm against her belly.  “You are worth something and it’s far more value than anyone’s peace of mind.  I love you and you’re not leaving me, not for anything.  I am yours and you are mine and you’re going to marry me someday, Jon Snow.  You’re going to marry me and you’re going to be a father to our children and you’re going to keep us safe because you’re the bravest man I’ve ever known and you’re a thousand times stronger than any man I’ve known.  You’re not leaving, do you hear me?”

Jon pressed his fingers into her belly, his eyes on their hands with such intensity it burned.  Finally, he met her eyes again and said, “I hear you.  And I love you, Dany.”

“I love you, Jon.”  She kissed him hard, making him feel how much he meant to her.  Then, she said to him, “Let’s go to bed.  No more panic attacks tonight.”


	17. All-In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delayed update! As some of you know, my real life got a little crazy the last week or so, but I think I have it back under control now. :) Thank you to Superarrow1 for insisting that Ned's party make it into this fic. It led to some lovely conversations between characters and I will definitely be bringing those characters back again. :)

Thank you to NoOrdinaryLines for the amazing mood board!!

 

            It rained all week.

            During the day if he wasn’t at work, Jon distracted himself by poring over files from the Viserys investigation, driving her absolutely mad.  At night, he hardly slept at all.  Instead, he sat upright in bed with Dany draped across his chest and Ghost across his legs.  They kept the lamp on and the curtains tightly drawn, soft music playing quietly on her phone to muddle the sound of water.  Once on Tuesday night and twice on Wednesday, she awoke to him sitting there wide awake, staring into space, and fucked him until he passed out cold.  Those times may have given him the only real sleep he got those few days because each time she stirred, he was already awake.

            She didn’t want to think about how he handled working through that.  He’d mentioned once that he’d been medicated when he came back from Iraq.  Was he still?  She had never seen him taking anything, though she was confident a Xanax or two could save his life if he had another panic attack like the one he’d had Monday night.  Maybe he’d reacted poorly to the drugs or didn’t like them.  Or maybe he wasn’t allowed to be under their influence as a cop.  Everyone was different.

            They spent all day Thursday laying in bed together.  Jon for the most part slept.  The rain had finally eased enough that between the music and burying himself under the covers, he apparently couldn’t hear it.  In the meantime, Dany sat cross-legged in the bed beside him, reading the file he kept carrying around on Viserys.

            He’d left Winterfell when their father died after rolling the car over a highway barrier drunk.  He’d sold the house and gone to King’s Landing, where he’d always wanted to go, and blew what money was left on chasing a degree in political science.  He’d worked in the campaign room of some senator, but that hadn’t lasted long.  She suspected that Viserys’s prickly personality didn’t react well with the sort of people one found in campaign rooms.  Where he’d gone afterward was apparently a mystery, though it was clear he’d somehow made it back to Winterfell and was staying somewhere close by.

            Why now, after all this time?  She’d been without Drogo for two years and he hadn’t come for her.  She’d had the House for over a year and he hadn’t come for her, though she was back in Winterfell where he wanted her.  If he had been stalking her, he could be lashing out because she was with Jon.  That was the one thing that made the last few weeks different among the last few years, at least for her.  It would make sense that he’d be afraid of a former Army Ranger turned cop the way he’d been afraid of Drogo, but where he’d fled Drogo, he was lashing out now at her because of Jon.  Maybe Viserys had changed.  Maybe the man that had feared Drogo was not so easily cowed now.  Or he hadn’t stalked Jon long enough to know how dangerous he was.  He was considerably shorter than Drogo.

            She wished they’d be around Saturday evening to set a trap for her asshole brother.  They’d be back well before his favored strike time, but Ned Stark’s birthday party would consume their time probably from three in the afternoon until at least ten at night from the way Jon explained it.  He had off of work for the affair and had commissioned Greyworm to watch the House, girls, dogs and all, for them while they were away. 

            Even though it seemed Dany already had seals of approval from Arya and Catelyn Stark, she was nervous about meeting the rest of them as Jon’s girlfriend.  She hadn’t seen Robb since high school and had never met Bran, Rickon, or Ned himself, yet they would all know most of her life story through Sansa, Jon, and Catelyn.  There would be expectations and she didn’t know how she would fit with those expectations.

            Jon had been acting strange too, and not just about the rain.  On Thursday and Friday, he was as nervous and easily flustered as she was.  It only made matters worse, of course, because his worrying only made her worried that there was something worth worrying about. 

            When Saturday morning came along, Dany cooked breakfast as usual but only picked at a scone herself.  Jon watched her like a hawk, but said nothing.  When a mostly-asleep Irri joined them in the kitchen, she asked mid-yawn, “Is it finally supposed to be nice today?”

            Missandei poured Irri a cup of coffee and slid the sugar and creamer over to her.  “It’s not going to be raining, thank the gods.  I think all the ‘nice’ weather is gone, though.”

            Irri groaned.  “Gods, it’s winter for eight months of the year in this damn place.  Why do we live here?”

            “Damned or not, it’s home,” Jon answered, eyes on Dany still.  “Did you want to look at cars this weekend?”

            Irri woke up a bit and smiled.  “That would be awesome if you’re still willing to help.  I have no idea what I’m looking at.”

            “Sure,” Jon said, turning his attention to his tea.  Dany remembered him saying once that he wasn’t much of a tea guy, but since he moved in with her, he’d been drinking it more and more.  “We could do a quick look today, think about it, and pick one out tomorrow if you want.”

            Irri leaned over to grab a grimacing Jon by the head and lay a loud kiss on his curls.  Missandei laughed and Dany raised an eyebrow at Jon, shaking her head as she tried to hide a smirk.  “You’re the best.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

            “No problem,” Jon said, still grimacing.  He looked to Dany and his eyes narrowed when he saw her smirk.  “Just please don’t do that to me again.”

            Irri sighed dramatically.  “Is Dany the only person in the world allowed to show you affection, then?”

            Dany moved around the counter and kissed Jon’s inky curls the way Irri had, smiling when he looped his arm around her waist.  “Yes.”

            Missandei was still giggling and burst into full laughter when Irri put a hand on her chest and said, “My heart is broken.”

            When Irri and Missandei vacated the kitchen to get ready for the day, Jon wrapped his arms around Dany to stall her in washing the dishes.  “You hardly ate anything, love.”

            Dany sighed, the worry creeping back in.  “You don’t miss a thing, do you?”

            “It’s my job not to.”  Jon kissed her braids.  She’d done her hair in dozens of little braids today, liking how in-control they made her feel, and had pinned them up to look like a rose on the back of her head.  Jon traced the braids very carefully with his fingertips.  “This is beautiful, love.  I don’t know how you do that.”

            Her heart warmed and she answered, “Magic.”

            “Of course.”  Jon kissed her hair again, then whispered in her ear, “Please don’t be nervous about today.  It will be fun and low-key, I promise.  There will be so many people there, most of the time it’ll be just you and me.  Maybe Sansa or Robb and his wife.”

            Dany gulped.  “Margaery.”

            “Yeah.  How do you know her?”

            Dany gritted her teeth and answered carefully, a blush burning across her face.  “I saw her last week.  When I went to the doctor.”

            Jon stiffened.  “Oh.  That’s what you’re worried about.  Love, Margaery’s a good person and a good doctor.  She wouldn’t have told anyone about that, not even Robb.”

            She laid her hands over his on her ribs.  “You think so?”

            “I know so.  Please don’t stress yourself about it.”

            “You’re very concerned about my stress level lately.”

            Jon chuckled and kissed her neck.  “Maybe I am.”

            Dany smiled and turned around slowly in his arms so she could kiss him back, slow and sweet.  “What have I done to deserve a man like you?”

            He kissed her back so her knees went wobbly and whispered against her lips, “Nothin’ special, love.  Nothing but being yourself.”

            While Jon and Ghost were gone helping Irri with her car shopping, Dany took the pits out for a walk around the block.  She couldn’t remember the last time she’d tried it and was frankly terrified she would end up losing an arm, but they behaved the way they did in the backyard.  Drogon led the other two pits, regularly glancing back to her for guidance and taking care not to pull his leash, keeping it just barely taut so he could feel her wishes vibrating along the nylon.  At one point, the dogs stopped to growl at an offending squirrel, but it wasn’t as difficult as she’d expected to regain their attention.  They didn’t run into any neighbor dogs, thank the gods.  She had a feeling it would take a little more practice before the pits were ready to act like proper citizens in the face of Mr. Luwin’s sheepdog.

            The walk was nice in other ways too.  The sun cast filtered rays down around clouds and the air was crisp and tasted of fall.  A few of the trees carried leaves that were only just beginning to fade to gold and several of the neighbors had collected and planted or potted mums in a riot of oranges, yellows, reds and pinks.  Soon enough, the pumpkins and gourds would be appearing and then the Halloween decorations.  The neighbor kids had just started back to school and she hoped that before too long the pits would be behaving well enough not to bark at the kids who walked past the House.

            Back at the House, she fussed over what to wear based on what little she knew about the party while the dogs lounged on the bed.  Frustrated, she held up an outfit to show the dogs.  “What do you think?”

            Drogon grumbled, Viserion slipped back to sleep, and Rhaegal let out a sharp, squeaky yawn that had her smiling and rolling her eyes at the lot of them.

            There was a knock at the door and Jon entered a moment later, stopping in his tracks when he saw Dany standing there in her bra and panties.  A crooked smile stretched across his face and he shut the door deliberately.  “Well, well.  What are we up to here?”

            Dany blushed, keeping her eyes locked on him lest he try to sneak up on her and grab her.  Drogon would flip if he did.  “I’m trying and failing to figure out what I’m supposed to wear to this party.”

            Jon shrugged.  “Wear whatever you want.”

            She raised an eyebrow.  “That’s not helpful.”

            Jon snorted and ran his hand back through his hair awkwardly.  “Sorry.  Most of it will be outside and it’s supposed to cool off fast tonight, so something warm.  Think bonfires, booze, barbeque…all the best things in life.”

            Dany grinned and raised both eyebrows now.  “ _Those_ are the best things in life?”

            Jon tipped his head at her and his smile warmed as he stepped forward, took the clothes out of her hand, and dropped them on the floor.  He laid his hands on her hips and his eyes fell to her body as his forehead met hers, his soft curls tickling at the sides of her face.  “Gods, I love it when you wear red.  You look so fierce and beautiful.”

            A blush to match her bra and panties crept across Dany’s cheeks and she kissed him.  At first it was a long, warm kiss, just her lips on his, molding to him.  Then, he was kissing her back, taking her breath away, sucking her lower lip, teasing her tongue with his.  Dany looped her arms over his shoulders, twining her right hand into his hair and tugging softly on it.  Jon groaned and his hands moved from her hips to her ass, picking her up and pulling her against his body as if she weighed nothing.  She locked her legs around his hips and grinned.  Between kisses, she asked, “Are you sure you want to go?  We could just…you know…stay here.”

            Jon chuckled and kissed her until she moaned, then whispered against her lips, “We’re going, but I don’t mind being late if you don’t.”

            “Not at all.”

            “Good.”  Jon unclasped her bra, carried her to the bed, and pulled free of the kiss long enough to say, “Dogs.  Down.”

            The pits groaned and grumbled their complaints, but obeyed, clearing a space in the unmade bed for Jon to drop Dany on her back.  While he stripped off his shirt, then started on his belt, she gave him a stern look.  “Don’t you dare mess up my hair.  If you do, we’ll be very late.”

            Jon groaned, eyes dark with lust, and shot her a devilish smile.  “Here’s the thing, love.  Women spend all this time making themselves look perfect and all it does is make men want to mess it up that much more.”

            She sat up and pointed a finger at him in warning.  “Jon Snow.  If you can’t behave, I’ll resort to drastic measures.”

            He kicked off his boxers, standing over her naked as the day he was born, his cock at attention and making her mouth water.  “And what measures are those, love?”

            Dany raised an eyebrow at him and reached behind her, finding in a moment the handcuffs she’d stashed under the pillow.  Jon’s eyebrows shot up and after a moment, he shook his head and chuckled.  “How long have you had those stashed there?”

            She shrugged coyly.  “Since this morning.  I had a feeling my braids might be in danger today.”

            “Oh really?”  Jon crouched down and crawled towards her on the bed as she crawled backward.  He reached out and with one hand pushed her down onto her back and settled over her, his hard length laid against her center.  Dany arched her back in longing and very nearly lost all resolve.  “It seems you were right,” Jon said roughly, his hand ghosting up between her breasts to her neck, cupping the base of her skull right beneath the bottom pins in her hair.

            Dany acted quickly, snapping one cuff closed around his wrist and the other around a bar of the headboard.  Jon eyed his handcuffs for a moment, then looked down at Dany with a smirk.  “You are just looking for trouble, aren’t you?”

            She bit her lip to keep from smiling as she reached out and bent his free arm under him, rolling them over so she was on top.  Jon looked dazed for a moment at the movement and Dany used his momentary incapacitation to move aside her thong and slowly rub herself along his length.  Jon’s eyes snapped shut and he moaned.  “I’m not looking for trouble,” Dany said slowly, her voice low and rough the way she’d learned he liked.  “I am trouble.”

            Jon opened his eyes and stared up at her, his lips parted with hunger.  “Gods, Dany…”

            “I told you you’d get yours, Jon Snow,” she said, shifting her hips slowly forward until his tip slid just barely inside her, then shifting back again as he slipped free.  Jon shut his eyes again and his hand trapped by the handcuffs curled into a fist.  “It’s torture, isn’t it?” she said slyly, taking his free wrist and pinning it down on the bed when he tried to reach for her.  She didn’t stop rocking against him as she did it, even began rolling her hips a bit in that way that made them both see stars.  Jon groaned and his hips bucked under her, desperately seeking reprieve.  “Ah, ah!  I’m in charge now.”

            He opened his eyes then and smiled.  “Love, you’re always in charge.  Don’t you know you own me?  I only pin you down because you like it that way.”

            Dany raised an eyebrow and paused with him just barely inside her again, watching as he shut his eyes and raised himself up off the pillow until he found his limit with the handcuffs.  “And you don’t like this?”  So slowly her own eyes fell shut and her own lips parted as she did it, she lowered herself down onto him, already so wet that her shaking thigh muscles were the only thing keeping her from sheathing him completely.  Jon tried to wrench his hand free and she pinned it under her knee for good measure.  “I think you like this and you just don’t want to admit it.”

            Jon groaned and hissed through gritted teeth as he filled her completely, then answered in a labored voice, “I do like this.  I just prefer making you come first and at the rate you’re going, I’m not going to last very long, love.”

            Dany arched her back and pulled away slowly so she could feel the length of him sliding _right there_ and Jon groaned again as she pushed back once more.  Her leg muscles were straining and her toes were curling with the torture of it, but it felt so damn good and she loved the look on Jon’s face.  “I wouldn’t worry,” she said to him, leaning forward so her breasts dangled just out of reach of his mouth.  He tried to reach them anyway and groaned in frustration when he couldn’t.  Dany smirked and relented, leaning just a little farther so he could clasp one nipple between his lips and suck, a thousand bolts of longing arcing along her nerves, down her spine, and into her core. 

She moaned and he took her momentary weakness as an opportunity to free his hand.  She’d barely felt her knee sink into the mattress and her clit was pinched between his thumb and forefinger, his middle finger teasing the nerves running from there to where his cock disappeared inside her.  Her head snapped back and her lips parted in a gasp.  Jon chuckled low and rough and whispered, “I’m not worried.  I’m still going to make you come first.”

Faced with a challenge, she tried to back off him, but his teeth dug softly into her nipple and his fingers worked magic on her, making her hips drive down to meet him of their own accord.  In moments, she was cursing under her breath and she did come first, shattering seconds before him with her hands digging into his chest.  When it was over she collapsed onto him and he wrapped his arm loosely around her, kissing her forehead.  While Dany still fought to catch her breath, Jon chuckled.  “Now I’m going to spend the whole night thinking about that.  I’ll be tripping over my own feet.”

Dany smiled and kissed him, warm and lazy.  “I love you.”

“I love you.”  He kissed her, then whispered as an afterthought, “You do have the key, right?”

Dany laughed and picked up the key from the nightstand.  “Of course I do.”

 

\------------------

 

The Starks had a large farmhouse just outside of Winterfell with grey siding, a white wraparound porch, and an expansive backyard that was home to a barn, a chicken coop, a goat pen, and the largest firepit Dany had ever seen.  There had to be over a hundred people milling around the yard, porch, and deck, including over a dozen children playing ladder golf and beanbag toss, or running around the goat pen with the three goats.  Dany took Jon’s hand and he squeezed it as they walked up the gravel driveway.  They walked right to the backyard, where they were spotted by Sansa, who smiled and waved them over.  “There you are!  You had me worried you’d bail.”

“Of course not!” Jon said, grinning.  “Just lost track of time.”

“Well, go grab a beer or something.  Bar’s set up on the deck.”

They followed the suggestion and found two beers on the deck, then leaned over the railing to watch the people moving about.  Jon pointed to a broad-shoulder man with an infectious smile and shoulder length hair who was preparing to set the bonfire.  “That’s my dad, Ned.”  He watched the crowd for a few more moments, then pointed out a dark-haired boy perched on top of the goat house, about to pounce on the laughing children below.  “That’s Bran.  He’s in college now.  And Rickon’s the curly-haired one with the dogs.”  There were several Labradors, all far more docile than her pits, crowded around a boy who was crouched in the grass, licking his face and ears.  “And Robb is…there.  Dark red hair.”  Dany followed his gaze to where Robb stood talking to a black-haired man whose face bore a strong resemblance to Ned, a beer in one hand and an arm around his beautiful wife, Margaery. 

            “Hey, Jon.  Dany.”  Dany stiffened, but softened again when she turned and saw Arya standing there, her short hair loose around her face and a red Solo cup in her hand. 

            Jon grinned at Arya and gave her a brief half-hug.  “Hey, did you get off?”

            “Yeah, but I had to work Jaime’s shift last night for it.  Where’ve you been?  Robb’s been looking for you.”

            “Lost track of time.”  Just like the first time he’d said it, something warm deep inside her turned over and she had to fight back a smile.

            “Snow!”

            Jon spun around and smiled wide enough that his eyes crinkled.  “Robb!”  Robb took the steps up the deck two at a time and clasped both arms around his foster brother.  “How long are you home for?”

            “Awhile,” Robb answered, a handsome grin on his face as he released Jon and took a step back to take Margaery’s hand.  Margaery gave Dany a tiny wave and a warm smile, then turned her attention back to Robb, who smiled down at her.  “Someone keeps reminding me that I’ve hardly been home since I married her.  I’m taking some time off before I go for another tour.”

            “Good,” Jon said, nodding to Margaery as he slipped his hand around Dany’s.  “There will always be wars to fight, but it’s the people back home who really matter.”

            “Very true.”  Robb leaned down to give Margaery a long, tender kiss that made Dany’s heart warm.  She’d seen so many ugly relationships in her life, especially now that she had the House.  It was so sweet to see a beautiful one.  When Robb released Margaery, both of them were blushing, but Robb looked right to Dany and squinted his eyes a bit.  “Is that Daenerys Targaryen?  Gods, I haven’t seen you in ages.”

            “I left to go to school in Essos right after senior year,” Dany explained, hoping he didn’t ask any more questions.  “I only just heard that you guys got married.  Congratulations!”

            Both Margaery and Robb grinned and Margaery blushed prettily.  “Thank you,” she said, her voice like a bell.  “It was a small affair, we didn’t have much time to plan, but it was gorgeous.”

            “It was gorgeous,” Jon agreed, then nodded to the barn, saying to Dany, “They had the wedding right in the barn here.”

            “Oh, that’s so cool!” Dany exclaimed.  She’d spent little time thinking about weddings.  Her own to Drogo had been a courthouse wedding with a raunchy after-party crowded with drunk body builder types.  Now, she wondered if she had missed something.

            “Thanks,” Margaery said, smiling hard enough that two dimples showed on her cheeks.

            Jon asked Robb about his last tour and Robb told a few stories, most involving guns Dany either didn’t recognize or couldn’t even imagine firing.  After a while, Margaery held up her empty Solo cup and locked eyes with Dany.  “I need another.  How about you, Dany?”

            “Sure.”  Dany gritted her teeth and squeezed Jon’s hand before she let go to steel herself, then followed Margaery to the bar to find another beer.

            “Boys,” Margaery said.  “All they talk about is their toys.”

            A small smile lit Dany’s face despite her nerves.  “Jon’s not usually like that, but I did notice it coming out when he took me shooting.”

            Margaery smiled and raised an eyebrow.  “He took you shooting?”

            Dany nodded.  “He’s a better shot than me, but not by much.”

            “Good for you.”  Margaery carefully stirred her fresh drink, then took a step closer to ask, “If you don’t mind, what did you decide to do?”

            Dany took a deep breath, then told the truth.  “I decided not to take the birth control and see how it goes.”

            The dimples came back and Margaery touched her shoulder softly.  “Good for you.  If you want to do something easy to speed things up I can give you a few suggestions.”

            Something easy.  Nothing that would be stressful or put pressure on things, just something lifestyle-related that would ‘speed things up.’  Dany nodded.

            Margaery dropped her hand, still smiling, and said, “Trying cutting your caffeine and meat back.  Beans or soy are better proteins.  And there’s an over-the-counter prenatal vitamin I recommend.  I can prescribe you one if you get to that point, but this one would be cheaper and you wouldn’t have to come to the office again to get it.”

            Dany took down the name of the prenatal vitamin Margaery recommended in her phone.  It sounded familiar from when she and Drogo had been trying to conceive.  She had tried a couple different ones then.  “Thank you, Margaery.”

            “Of course.”  Margaery took the phone out of Dany’s hands and added her phone number after the vitamin brand.  “Let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help.”

            “Thanks so much.”

            Sansa joined them at the bar then and the conversation took a sudden left turn.  Dany followed along as best as she could, nodding or smiling at the appropriate times, but her mind was stuck on what may or may not be curled up in her belly and what she could do to help things along.

            Jon and Robb joined them not much later, trading out their empty beers for full ones and settling in beside their girls.  Jon’s arm looped around Dany’s back and he hooked his thumb in the front pocket of her jeans, his hand splayed over her hip.  Warmth and security seeped into her flesh through his touch and she leaned into him.  She let Jon do the talking and watched him in his element with people he loved and trusted.  He was so relaxed and smiled so much it made her heart warm.  She made a mental note to encourage more evenings out with Robb and Margaery, Sansa, and the others.  It would be good for them both.

            Catelyn’s voice rose above the din of the party.  “Ned, wait!  Ned, Jon’s over here with his girl.  Come say ‘hi’!”

            A moment later, Ned and Catelyn rounded the deck and a grinning Ned grabbed Jon in a bear hug.  “There you are!  We haven’t seen you around in ages.  What have you been up to?”

            “Work,” Jon said, grinning.  “And…well…spending time with Dany.”

            Ned’s grey eyes flicked to her and he smiled, extended a hand.  She took it.  He had a firm handshake, but not a squeezing or crushing one.  “Dany.  I’ve heard so much about you.  How did you and Jon get together?”

            Dany shot a glance at Jon and, when she recognized a bit of nerves in him that made her heart soften, she said, “Well, it started when he pulled me over.”

            Laughter erupted around them and Jon turned beet-red, glaring half-heartedly at her as he laughed along.  Ned clapped his hands and looked to Jon.  “I trust you didn’t give her a ticket?”

            “No, I did not,” Jon said, to everyone’s amusement.  “But I would have said it started when Sansa made us dance together at Wildlings’.”

            Sansa shrugged, blue eyes sparkling.  “What can I say?  I’m a matchmaker at heart.”

            They talked for a long time, eventually making their way down to the bonfire.  At the edge of the firepit, Jon sat on a thick log with Dany draped across his legs, his arms around her and his hands clasped at her hip.  Her black poncho sweater was just warm enough with the fire there to help and whether she was looking into the dancing flames, up at the night sky with its millions of gleaming stars, or at Jon, everything she saw was beautiful and made her heart sing. 

            At some point, Dany whispered to Jon, “Margaery suggested I start some prenatal vitamins.”

            Jon pursed his lips, but otherwise didn’t react other than to tighten his hands a bit on her.  “That’s not a bad idea.”

            “You think so?”

            He smiled at her, the stars reflected in his dark eyes.  “I think so.  It’s up to you, though, how fast you want this to go.”

            A slow smile spread across her face and a little ball of warmth expanded and filled her chest.  “Well, you’re all-in, right?”

            His smile grew and he nodded.  “Of course, love.”

            She laid a hand on her lower belly, almost feeling a lump there she wanted to find something so badly.  “Then I am too.”

            Jon kissed her soft and slow, then whispered to her, “There’s someplace I want to take you tomorrow.  We can stop and pick up the vitamins on the way.”

            “Someplace like where?”

            “You’ll see.”  And then he kissed her again and again, until it was just the heat of the fire, the chill of the autumn breeze, and the two of them.


	18. In the Godswood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is a few days late, but I hope you'll agree it's worth it. :) I expect I'll have another for you guys this weekend...enjoy the fluff because more action will be coming soon.

 

Thank you to NoOrdinaryLines for the amazing mood board!!

 

           Dany didn’t know what to expect when she got in Jon’s truck on Sunday.  He had been mercilessly secretive about their upcoming adventure, even insisting that she wear ‘whatever you want’ when she tried to get a hint by asking how to dress for the occasion.  She ended up in jeans, heeled boots, and a flowing purple blouse that matched the bracelet on her wrist.

            Jon drove them past the high school and pulled off into the lot for Godswood Park.  It was a park designed for people looking for a peaceful walk with winding paths, enormous, ancient trees, and flower gardens.  Dany got out of the truck, carefully arranging her shopping bag from the drugstore so that nothing would get slammed in the door.  When Jon came around the front, he was holding a small picnic basket.  “Ready?”

            Dany eyed the basket and committed to memory the image of Jon holding it.  It was so absurd and yet so sweet.  “Lead the way.”

            Jon shifted the basket to his left hand so he could take her hand in his right.  They walked together under the looming ash and oak trees into Godswood Park, letting the smell of fading leaves and the whisper of the breeze in the trees swallow them up.

            They walked for a while, talking quietly as they did and pointing out especially beautiful flowers or squirrels scampering in the trees above.  The air was thin and cool, foretelling a brief fall before winter came, but Dany didn’t mind.  It felt refreshing after the heat of summer, like being cleansed on the inside.  Like leaving the past behind.

            When Jon tugged her to a stop, her eyes found their destination immediately and she sucked in her breath in a gasp.  There was a massive birch tree in Godswood Park, so much larger than they typically got with branches hanging low and the leaves draping downward.  With the onset of fall, the leaves had turned a dark red, a startling contrast to the white bark.  “Gods, Jon,” she murmured.  “It’s beautiful.  How did you know it would look like this?”

            Jon stepped off the path towards the tree and she followed him.  “I checked it a few days ago to be sure, but it does this every year about this time.  It holds the red leaves until a storm or a really windy day knocks them down.  I used to walk here after school for some quiet time.”

            “Quiet time?  What kind of quiet time?” she asked softly, still entranced by the tree.  They were passing under the leaves now and the sun spilt between them in shards of gold surrounded by soft rippling red.

            Jon set down the basket, then squeezed her hand and met her gaze.  “Well, for one thing, this is where I decided I was in love with you, fall of junior year.”  Her eyes snapped to his.  “I remember the tree being just like this and sitting under it thinking about this beautiful girl, this force of nature, who had smashed me in a history debate that day.  And I thought of the light in your gorgeous eyes and your fierceness and intelligence and goodness and I realized that I was in love with you, Daenerys Targaryen.”

            She was floored.  She had suspected Jon had a thing for her in high school, had heard it mentioned once or twice since they’d been together, but that kind of devotion was something she had not expected and felt deeply honored by.  In high school, she had been a painfully quiet, fearful girl who stuck to her books and wrote good essays and made plans for leaving Winterfell and Viserys behind.  She had no social memories from high school that weren’t tainted by fear that whoever she was with would somehow find out what Viserys was doing to her and be disgusted by her, or worse, be hurt by Viserys because of it.  There had been no boys, no friends, no parties, just books.  Except for history, where she found some passion, and where she found a suitable rival for her intellect, Jon Snow.  She had been able to wake up in that class and be herself.  She had been able to shine and it was because of him.  To hear that he had loved her then when she was so broken and scared and that he had loved her for the qualities that made her _her_ , that was precious.  Her eyes watered and she clasped his hand in both of hers and said softly, “Thank you for telling me that.  I’m…honored.”

            Jon smiled sweetly at her and gestured to the soft grass at the base of the tree.  They sat together against the trunk and Jon opened the basket to present her with a wine bottle.  She cradled the bottle in her hands as he readied a corkscrew and two stemless wineglasses.  “Chappellet Signature.  This is the wine we drank at Highgarden.”

            “It is.”

            She smiled and a blush bloomed on her cheeks.  “You spoil me.”

            Jon grinned and took the bottle back to pop the cork.  “I try to.”

            They talked quietly as they sipped the wine, watching the sunlight dance with the shadows on the grass and the breeze ripple through the flowers and trees.  She asked him about the army and he told her about basic training, about training Ghost to be a K-9, and about the men on his squad.  He asked about what the pits were like as puppies and what kind of work she’d done to the house after she’d bought it.  “Honestly,” she answered to his question about the pits, “They were just like they are now, but imagine them shredding everything and running back and forth in my little apartment through white stuffing.  That’s why the only toys they get now are balls and bones.  They managed to destroy _every damn toy_ I gave them.”

            Jon laughed.  “So Drogon was the leader from the beginning?”

            “Oh, without question.  And Rhaegal was the goofball, always showing off.  Viserion was so shy and skittish, but the other boys would cheer him up and insist he play with them, like they do now.  He would have been a shattered little soul, but because he had them he got to live again.”

            His grey eyes swam with emotion as he said, “And because you had them, you got to live again.”

            Dany gave him a sad smile and lifted her glass.  “To living again.”

            “To living again.”  He clinked his glass to hers.

            For several minutes, they sat in silence, listening to the breeze in the leaves.  Then, Jon broke the silence by asking quietly, “Dany?  Are you happy with me?”

            She blinked in surprise and looked to him in disbelief.  He had to know she was, didn’t he?  She’d certainly made no secret of it.  “Yes, Jon.  Absolutely.  In fact, I’ve never been happier.”

            Jon smiled at her and set down his wineglass carefully in the grass.  She noticed his hand shook.  “Good.  I’m glad,” he said, reaching back into the basket once more.  “Because all I want is to make you happy, Dany.  You deserve that after everything.”

            A frown tilted her lips and creased her brow.  Dany set down her own wineglass and laid her hand on his chest over his heart.  His scars mottled his flesh so badly that she could feel the one beside his heart even through his flannel shirt.  “Jon, you deserve that too.  With how hard you work every day to protect people, not just me, but everyone.  And with how kind and gentle you are despite where you’ve been and what you’ve had to do.  You deserve the world.”

            One corner of Jon’s mouth tipped up in a small smile and he said softly, “I don’t want the world.  I just want you.”  He took a deep, shaky breath that made his ribs quiver under her hand.  “Which is why…I wanted to ask you…”  He opened his hand and on his palm lay a silver ring so stunning her heart stopped in her chest.  The band was tiny braided vines with little diamonds embedded in the leaves and, at the center, was a gorgeous marquise-cut diamond.  When Jon found his voice again, it was rough with emotion and nerves, but he didn’t hesitate in asking, “Daenerys, will you marry me?”

            For a moment, she sat there speechless as her eyes filled with hot tears.  _Daenerys, will you marry me?_   The words echoed in her head over and over, yet they seemed no less real.  Surely this was all a dream she would wake from in a cloud of disappointment.  She could count on one hand the number of times she’d gotten what she wanted in her life, no matter how hard she tried.  She had been born under cursed stars, leaving her mother dead on an operating table.  She had watched her father descend into alcohol-driven madness, watched her brother shatter into a million confused, scattered pieces when Rhaegar died.  She had had her innocence stolen from her and had suffered from torture and humiliation from the time she was thirteen years old.  She had entered a marriage with little love and had fought so hard for a child only to lose him.  Love, peace, contentment…such things were not in the cards for her.  Until Jon Snow.  He was real, this was real, and he was doing his best to give her everything she could want and more, making up for lost dreams every day.

Choking on the maelstrom of emotions inside her, Dany nodded and said, “Yes.  Yes, Jon.”

            Jon grinned broadly and sighed in relief, then held out his hand to her.  She placed her left hand in his and he carefully slid the ring onto her finger.  The size was even perfect.  Her throat tightened and she wiped her eyes so she could see the ring on her finger.  “Gods, Jon…”

            “Come here, love.”  Jon reached out and pulled her against his chest.  Then, his lips were on hers, so soft and slow it was heartbreaking.  His hands moved gently over her back, her loose hair, her face.  His fingertips stroked the side of her face from her temple to her jaw and the gesture brought the tears to her eyes again so he broke free to kiss her tears away from her cheeks.  Gods, she loved him.  She loved him so much it hurt, so much she could feel it in her blood pumping through her pulse, in her bones crushing her chest.  She loved this man and she would keep him until the day she died.

            They spent most of the afternoon sitting under the birch in Godswood Park.  They kissed, drank more wine, and talked about the future, about dreams that might actually come true.  Jon asked her who her maid of honor would be and smiled warmly when she said Sansa’s name as if it were obvious.  Robb would be his best man, followed by Sam, Bran, and Rickon as groomsmen.  After only a moment’s thought, Dany decided on Missandei, Irri, and Arya as her bridesmaids.  They had been friends a long time and Missandei and Irri were far closer to her than other past residents of the House had been.  When Jon asked how many people she wanted to invite, Dany’s stomach rolled over and she dealt him a sad smile.  “Well, I don’t really have anyone to invite.”

            “No one?  No aunts or uncles?  Grandparents?”

            Dany took a long sip of her wine.  She had been told at points in her childhood that they had family, but her father in his mad drunkenness had managed to alienate them all.  Her father, Rhaegar, and Viserys were the only family Dany had ever known.  “No one.”

            “Robb’s wedding was two hundred people.  I don’t expect you want two hundred Starks staring at us,” Jon said wryly.  Dany shook her head sadly, her stomach sinking.  She hated that she was putting restrictions on something he might care about so early on.  But, Jon just shrugged and said softly, “Well, I’m counting in my head and I think I can get away with only inviting fifty.  Thirty will come.  I’m the foster kid, after all.  It won’t be as bad as Robb had it.”

            Dany’s eyes bugged.  How could he cut out one-hundred and fifty people who had attended Robb’s wedding?  Some of them would have been Tyrells, of course, but still.  “Fifty?  Jon, you don’t have to do that on my account.  If there are more people you want to invite, high school friends, army buddies, distant relations, it’s fine, really.”

            Jon just smiled softly and laid his hand on hers to soothe her.  “Love, it’s not about them.  It’s about you and me.  And I don’t need more people to be there than the thirty or so I know will show up.  If there’s anyone from Essos…” She shook her head and he let it drop.  “Well, if you think of anyone, please tell me.  Otherwise, I’ll just talk to Catelyn when the time is right.  She’ll still have all the addresses for the relatives that came to Robb’s.  Where do you want to have it?”

            “Well, I’m not religious.”

            “Me neither.”

            Dany thought for a moment, looking around.  “Here would be nice.  But it won’t be until at least May that we can trust the weather and I don’t really want to wait that long.”

            “I agree.  We should pick somewhere we can do a winter wedding.”

            Dany pursed her lips, mentally noting that he’d agreed to a rather brief timeline for their engagement.  “We can’t do the barn at your parents’.  It’d be wrong to do what Margaery and Robb did.  What about The Imp’s Delight?”

            Jon grinned.  “That would be fun.  It’s a gorgeous place and I think they do wedding receptions.  A ceremony would be a first.”

            Dany shrugged.  “It was that wine that had me speeding that night you pulled me over.  Maybe it was a sign.”

            Jon laughed and shook his head in bewilderment.  “You were drunk?  Gods, Daenerys.”

            “I wouldn’t say ‘drunk,’ but ‘tipsy’ wouldn’t be inaccurate.”

            They settled on The Imp’s Delight and determined that either the weekend after Thanksgiving or the weekend after Christmas would be best because Bran and Rickon would be home from school and other far-flung relatives would be traveling anyway.  When it came down to those options, Jon gently pushed Dany down onto her back in the grass and kissed her slowly over and over, whispering against her mouth.  “I don’t want to wait another minute.  I want you, all of you.”

            She giggled and murmured back, “Jon, be realistic.”

            “You want realistic?”  He kissed her long and deep, then laid his hand on her belly and said, “Love, I plan to do everything I can to have our little one growing here as soon as possible.  But I don’t expect you want to be six months pregnant in the wedding photos.”

            Dany cringed.  “Highly unlikely, but, yes, that would be awkward.  And finding a dress would be a nightmare.”

            “Exactly.”

            Dany kissed him back for a long moment, turning over the options, then whispered, “November it is.  That should give us just enough time to send invitations.”

            Jon smiled widely and agreed.  “Yes.  It’s perfect.”  He raised an eyebrow in thought, then held up a finger and dug out his phone.  He opened up the camera and held out the phone as far from them as he could reach.  Dany blushed and laid her head on his shoulder, looking into the camera with him as they smiled.  Jon brought the phone close again and grinned.  “That actually turned out nice.  Engagement photo done.”

            Dany smiled and shook her head.  “We’ll have to plan quickly.  Or cut some corners.  Three months is a very short time to plan a wedding…”

            He kissed her lips to stem the increasingly nervous words.  His lips were soft and warm, molding to hers and brushing against hers, urging on the blood in her veins.  When he drew her lower lip into his mouth and sucked on it, she sighed in desire and her knee bent up into him until his hand gripped her thigh.  Their lips parted and she tasted his tongue on hers, tasted the rich, sweet wine.  Her head swam with drunkenness and lust and it was as her eyes rolled back behind her eyelids that Jon murmured against her mouth, “I can’t wait any longer than three months, love.  I am yours and you are mine and I want the world to know that.  We won’t cut corners, but we won’t have to.  Your bridesmaids will be as formidable as an army when it comes to planning.  I doubt any musician or officiant or florist would dare snub them.”

            A giggle escaped her at the words and he kissed her faster and harder.  He was right.  Sansa alone could be a force of nature when she wanted to be, but with Irri, Missandei, and Arya at her back?  An army, as Jon put it.  The tip of his tongue teased from the root of hers all the way to the tip and heat pooled between her thighs.  Her back bowed against him, pressing her breasts into his chest and her hips into his.  Jon groaned and his fingers on her thigh tightened even as the hand that cradled her head stroked her jaw in adoration.  “I want to take you somewhere, love,” he murmured.  “For our honeymoon, right afterward.  I want to take you somewhere it can be just us, no worries, no fear, no baggage.  Where do you want to go?”

            Dany struggled to brainstorm as he kissed her, thinking of the endless list of places she had never been.  Essos had been lovely and she’d seen much there, but she had also missed much.  “I’ve never seen the ocean,” she finally said, causing him to pause with his lips just brushing hers.  “I’d love to lie under the hot sun next to you thousands of miles from here, somewhere no one can reach us, and gaze into perfect blue water.”

            “I like the sound of that,” Jon said, his voice rough from kissing.  “I like it a lot.”

            Warmth bubbled up inside her as she imagined it.  Water even more blue and clear and beautiful than the sky, stretching endlessly all around them.  Soft, white sand and luscious green life behind them.  No phones, no background checks, no court cases.  The dogs would protect the House while they were gone, with Arya and Greyworm to help.  It would just be her and Jon, and maybe the little one inside her.  An image came to mind that she had seen years ago, maybe when she was thinking about honeymoons with Drogo, though they never went on one.  A small, rustic cabin built above pristine water.  “Tahiti,” she said.  “I’d like to go to Tahiti.”

            “Hmm,” Jon mumbled, his lips ghosting over her cheeks.  “Is Tahiti the one with the overwater bungalows or whatever they’re called?”

            “Yes.  It’d be a long plane ride.  And expensive.”

            “Damn that,” Jon said, kissing her with desperate longing, like he was starving for her.  “Let’s do it.  I want to be a twenty-hour flight away from all of this.  And I want to fuck you somewhere no one will hear us or care.  Somewhere we can see the ocean and the stars and the sand.”  He became more and more distracted as the words rolled off his tongue and soon, he gave them up in favor of kissing her until they were both forgetting to breathe and fighting for air, until her center throbbed and ached and she was torn between never wanting this moment to end and wanting to end it so she could fuck him in the back of his truck.

            “Jon…” she moaned between kisses.  He turned his attention to her throat, drawing her skin into his mouth and sucking until she both hoped and feared that he’d leave bruises.  “Jon, we need to either stop doing this, or move somewhere more private.”

            Jon’s laugh was low and dark with lust.  “Well, I would love to fuck you in my truck again.”

            Her toes curled in her boots at the words and when she spoke again, the pitch of her voice had risen with need.  “I’d like that too.”

            Jon groaned and eased off of her, moving like he was drunk though he hadn’t finished his first glass of wine.  He tipped it back then and placed his glass in the basket along with the wine bottle he’d recorked.  “Finish your wine, love,” he said, a crooked smile on his face.  “I do love taking you when you’re tipsy.”

            Dany giggled and did as she was told, sitting up against the birch tree to tip back the remnants of her second glass of wine.  Jon accepted the empty glass from her and laid it in the picnic basket, then stretched out his hand to help her to her feet.  She stumbled slightly and Jon’s hand tightened around hers as they both laughed.  He wrapped his arm around her then and they walked together, occasionally stumbling and laughing more, all the way back to the truck. 

Jon opened the back door and scooped Dany up the set her on the bench seat as she giggled.  The basket went on the floor next, and then Jon was climbing up onto the back seat with her, laughing as their legs tangled in the tiny space.  The door slammed and he hit the locks, then his mouth was on hers again.  Gods, she loved kissing him.  There were so many different ways they kissed and every one of them felt like sharing a soul, like thinking and feeling and knowing everything together as one.  And now, as his lips and hands raced over her body, stealing her breath and making her heart race, their soul was overcome by lust and impatient desire.  His tongue swirled around hers as he unbuttoned her jeans and she whimpered and arched her body to pull him down over her, needing him closer.  Jon’s hands shook with impatience and she giggled at him, but then he managed to unzip her jeans and shove them with her panties to her ankles.  His mouth left hers and she had a moment to whisper a drunken complaint, “Jon…” before his mouth was on her cunt and she shot up off the seat, hands clutching at the driver’s headrest and the handhold above the door on shock and ecstasy.  Jon chuckled and teased at her lips with her tongue, whispering, “Everything alright, love?”

“Gods, Jon,” Dany moaned.  All ability to think had evaporated from her mind and her eyes had rolled back in her head, leaving her blind.  All she knew was his mouth on her.

“This is mine,” Jon murmured, his rough voice a purr against her silver curls and sensitive skin.  He drew her clit into his mouth and sucked until her hips bucked against him and she cried out.  “You’re going to be my wife and I’m going to spend my whole life tasting you, making you scream my name.”

She was burning on the inside with need.  “Oh Jon…oh yes, please…” 

He spread her folds with his fingertips and dipped his tongue deep inside her, lapping up her wetness.  “How do you taste so damn good?” he groaned.  “Like spices and vanilla…it must be all those baths you take with those oils.  But fuck, I love the taste of your mouth and your skin and your cunt.” 

He reached deeper inside her then, exploring her and making her squirm and moan in pleasure.  Jon gripped her hips and pinned her down, taking his time mapping her channel, then stroking her G-spot over and over until she was panting and crying his name.  “Jon!  Oh, fuck…Jon.  Oh Jon!”  She came then, crying and moaning his name as he drank her in.  Even as she came down, though, he didn’t relent.  Instead, he moved his mouth to her nub, sliding two fingers inside her where his mouth had been.  Her muscles tightened around him and her knuckles whitened in their grip on the headrest and handhold.  “Jon…” she moaned.  “Please…”

He drew her nub into his mouth, sucking, licking, and grazing with his teeth in ways that had her screaming, all while his fingers pumped in and out of her without mercy.  Her climax crashed over her like a wave within moments, leaving her slumped against the door seeing stars.  Jon cradled her in his arms then, laying her down on the seat, and stroked her hair and face until she came back to life.  “You alright, love?”

“Alright?” she asked drowsily.  “I’m a hell of a lot better than alright, Jon Snow.”

Jon chuckled and shifted until she felt the heat of his length against her wetness and she gasped.  “Good.  I’m not done with you, yet, love.”

Just the feel of him was enough to bring her muscles to pulsing again and she moaned, “Jon, please…fuck me…”

He pushed into her, slow and agonizing, teasing her with every inch.  Her lips parted, then opened further into an “O” as he filled her.  “Is this what you want, love?” he asked, his voice low and rough.

“Yes, Jon.  Oh, gods…”

“You want my cock inside you?”

“Oh yes…yes, inside me, Jon…”

He was fully sheathed in her now and she squirmed under him as he groaned and held himself there.  “What else do you want?”

“I want you to fuck me.  Please, Jon…oh gods…”

He did fuck her, pulling out and then driving into her again and again.  When he braced his hands against the door behind her, she reached up and gripped his wrists as hard as she could.  Jon groaned and paused for a moment, adjusting his hands to pin hers under his.  Dany moaned, her blood racing ever faster through her veins.  Then, he was fucking her again, harder and faster as she moaned and cried his name.  She came again, her head swimming as she screamed his name over and over amidst every curse word she knew.  Jon was shaking and breathing franticly as he released one of her hands in favor of grabbing her knee and bending her leg up against her chest.  The change in angle, the extra tightness in her muscles, made her vision go white and she was screaming like she was dying and she didn’t give a fuck if there was anyone nearby to hear her.  When she came down, Jon had collapsed onto her breast and was mumbling curse words into her.  She laid her hands on his soft, curly black hair and combed through it gently, all her muscles watery and quivering.  “Jon?” she murmured.  “Are you going to live?”

“Fuck,” he groaned.  “I’d better.  That’s not going to be the last time I give you four in a row.”

Dany grinned and shook her head in amazement.  “You enjoy challenging yourself, don’t you?”

Jon chuckled and kissed her chest just above the collar of her blouse.  “I do.”


	19. Rising and Falling

  

Thank you to NoOrdinaryLines for the amazing mood board!!

 

          They laid together in the back of the truck for a long time, just holding each other and enjoying being so damn happy.  Jon was on cloud nine.  He was going to marry Daenerys Targaryen, the girl of his dreams, in three months.  And, gods willing, she’d be pregnant even before then.  He had never been so damn happy in his life.  It was bubbling in him like his blood was suddenly carbonated, oozing from his pores, making him jittery and high.  He wanted to run and scream and fuck her again.  Gods, he couldn’t believe it was real.  He had to keep looking at the ring on her finger to make himself believe it.

            “We should call them,” he said to her on impulse.

            “Call who?” Dany asked in bemusement.

            “Everyone who matters.  We could have them meet us at The Imp’s.”

            Dany smiled broadly and kissed his forehead.  “You want to announce it already?  You don’t want to keep it between us for a little while?”

            “Fuck, no,” he said, grinning.  “I want to carry you into Imp’s like a conquering hero and announce to everyone in the damn place, ‘This gorgeous woman is going to be my wife!’”

            Daenerys giggled and a beautiful rosy blush bloomed on her cheeks.  “If you insist.”

            “Excellent.”  Jon struggled to dig his phone out of his jeans pocket.  “You call the girls.  I’ll call Robb, Sam, and my parents.”

            Dany chuckled and shook her head, but indulged him and they began making the necessary calls, giving nonchalant reasons for wanting to do dinner out with whomever they were speaking to.  When it was done, Dany raised her hand and Jon smacked it in a high-five.

            And she was worried about wedding planning.  They had this in the bag.

            Jon parked in the back of the parking lot at The Imp’s Delight at a quarter to six and they watched like cops on a stakeout for everyone to arrive.  They had discussed going in right away, but they were both so fucking giddy and the ring sparkled on Dany’s hand like a searchlight, so they would have never been able to hold it in until everyone was there.  Jon shook his head and smirked as they watched Robb and Margaery get out of Robb’s truck at ten past six, the last to arrive.  “Should have known.  Robb is always late.”

            They got out of the truck and headed for the door to the winery.  A few steps short, Jon paused and held out his arms to Dany.  Dany looked at him with a crooked smile and an eyebrow raised.  “You were serious, then?”

            Jon laughed.  “Yeah, I was.  Indulge me?”

            Dany rolled her eyes, but did hold an indulgent smile and let him scoop her up into his arms like he was carrying her over the threshold.  He opened the door and carefully carried her through without bumping either her head or her feet and entered the winery.  All the people they loved had found each other and were talking with suspicious looks over a group of tables they’d pulled together not far from the door.  Jon met Daenerys’s eyes, which sparkled like amethysts.  She whispered, “I love you.”  He couldn’t resist giving her a soft kiss in return.  Then, grinning, he whistled, halting all conversation and bringing dozens of pairs of eyes to them.  “Hey!” he called out.  “This gorgeous woman is going to be my wife!”

            Cheers and applause erupted and Robb stood up sharply, hooting loudly, “Yeah, Snow!”  Irri was right behind him, squealing and shouting an “Ow, ow!” that made Dany blush fiercely.  As Jon carried the woman he loved across the room, his heart overflowing with love and acceptance and rightness, he felt the gaze and approval of everyone he cared about.  His parents, his brothers, his sisters, his best friend.  And Dany, planting a soft kiss on his neck as she lay curled in his arms like she belonged there.  He set her on her feet when they reached the table and they were both swept into waves of hugs and congratulations.  Everyone wanted to see the ring and the girls fawned over it when they did.  When he’d first walked into the jewelry store and seen all those cases of rings, he’d been terrified.  But when he’d seen _that_ ring, he’d known instantly that it belonged on her finger.  How could it not?  It screamed ‘Daenerys’ from every facet.  His father and Robb both gave him a slap on the back and fierce hugs of pride and congratulations and his sisters hugged him too, each whispering in his ear, “Good job.”

            This was the best day of his life.

            They eventually found seats side by side in the middle of the table where they could hear and be heard by everyone.  The first question came from Catelyn, who was glowing she was smiling so fiercely, and had her hand clasped in Ned’s on the table.  “So?  Do you have a date in mind?”

            Jon looked to Daenerys, who shrugged, her smile not wavering.  “Well,” he said, apprehensive now.  It was a short engagement.  They might condemn it as a ‘shotgun wedding.’  “I know it seems like we haven’t been together long, but Daenerys and I have been through a lot and we know who we are and what we want, so we don’t see any reason to wait long.  So, we were thinking that November 29th or 30th, when Bran and Rickon are still home from school, would work well.”

            “What?!” Sansa squealed, rising from her seat.  “You’ve got to be joking!  There’s so much to plan, so much to do!  You can’t possibly get all your vendors booked with only three months’ notice!”

            Dany grabbed her hand and pulled her back down into her seat.  “Well, it will be a very small wedding.  Fifty guests max.  So, that makes things easier.  And I know I’ll have the best bridesmaids in the world to help.”  She made a sweeping gesture from Sansa to Arya, Irri, and Missandei, all of whom smiled broadly.  Dany leaned forward and gave Sansa a kiss on the cheek.  “And the best maid of honor.”

            Sansa was frozen for a moment, her blue eyes sparkling as she stared at Dany.  Then, her expression shattered and she was crying into Dany’s arms.  A waiter came to the table at exactly the wrong time and Jon waved him over.  “Can you get us a bottle of cabernet and a bottle of pinot grigio to start?  Thanks.”

            They spent the evening talking about the proposal and their few set plans for the wedding, including the venue.  When that came up, Catelyn immediately summoned the waiter, who she asked to summon Tyrion Lannister, the owner of The Imp’s Delight.  While they waited for the imp himself to arrive, Catelyn dug in her purse until she found her checkbook and a pen.  “Mom,” Jon protested.  “You don’t have to…”

            Catelyn raised a finger and he shut his mouth as he’d learned to years ago.  “Yes, I do.  Don’t argue with me, Jon.”

            It was then that Tyrion approached the table.  He was a dwarf with blond hair, mismatched eyes that exuded intellect and humor, and more confidence than Jon could ever muster.  “My lady Catelyn!” he cried in pleasure.  “How nice to see you all here tonight.  Are you celebrating?”

            “We are,” Catelyn said, positively preening.  Jon had never felt so proud in his life.  “My son Jon has just gotten engaged.”

            Tyrion met Jon’s eyes with a brood grin.  “Congratulations!  And such a lovely bride-to-be!  Congratulations, my lady Daenerys!”

            Dany blushed and blew a kiss at Tyrion that made him blush in turn.

            “I asked you over here, Tyrion, because Jon and Daenerys would like to have the ceremony and reception here, if possible.”

            Tyrion lit up like Christmas.  “Oh, it would be an honor!  Do we have a date in mind?”

            Catelyn met Jon’s eyes as she answered, “November 29th or 30th?”

            Tyrion’s heavy eyebrows shot up and he shot a knowing grin at Jon.  “Eager for married life, are we?  Yes, I believe my schedule’s clear.  That time of year is usually quite quiet.  A wedding should be no trouble.”

            Catelyn raised her checkbook.  “I’d like to make a deposit to hold the date.  Jon and Daenerys will work out the remaining details with you another time.”

            The eyebrows went up again.  “Of course!  I need one thousand down.  The rest will be due three days before the event.”

            “Lovely.”  Catelyn scribbled quickly in her checkbook and tore the check out neatly, passing it to the imp.  “The dates are on there lest you forget.”

            “Oh, I won’t, my lady.”  Tyrion beckoned to the waiter and gestured to the wine bottles in the middle of the table.  “That wine plus two more bottles are on me.  If they don’t open them, they can take them home.  Call it selecting wines for your reception.”

            “Thank you, Tyrion!” Jon called, unable to hold in a smile at all that had just occurred.

            Tyrion made a gesture miming tipping a hat to Jon, then scurried off to the wine bar.

            “Catelyn, you didn’t have to do that!” Dany said, smiling and blushing fiercely. 

            Catelyn tipped her head and smiled warmly.  “Nonsense.  It’s the prerogative of the groom’s parents to pay for the reception.  I insist.”

            “Well, thank you so much.”

            It was late in the evening and the winery was quieting down before the party began to break up.  Jon and Dany stayed to the end, laughing and talking with their family and friends over the last of the third bottle of wine, a pinot noir.  The wine was hitting him and when he finally realized it, he observed Dany with her smooth, cream cheeks, unflushed, and her bright violet eyes.  She raised an eyebrow at him and swirled the pinot noir in her glass, which he couldn’t remember refilling in a while.  “Looks like I’m driving your truck home,” she said with a sly smile.

            Jon groaned and fished his keys out of his pocket to hand to her.  “Please don’t hurt it.”

            “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

            When they walked out to the parking lot with Robb, Margaery, and Arya, the last of their group, Dany turned to stone and watched like a gargoyle as a black Trans Am peeled out of the lot, gravel spraying behind it.  “What is it?” Jon asked her, his senses suddenly on high alert.

            “Nothing,” she said slowly, a disturbed note in his voice.  “It’s just that…Viserys used to have a black Trans Am.”

 

\------------------

 

            They had slept little last night, between the excitement of the wedding plans and the anxiety of Viserys looming in the shadows.  When Jon arrived at the station at five a.m., he was weary and sporting violet circles beneath both eyes.  There could be no rest, though.  He had a woman to marry, a child to sire, and a monster to kill before he could get to any of that.  The light and sweetness of the last few days had lulled him with contentment, but the way Dany had reacted to that car last night had him on high alert once more.

            He started with rerunning Viserys’s reports for any new leads.  His phone records included a call to a doctor in King’s Landing last week and an incoming call from a robo-dial drugstore.  No new bank accounts, no credit checks.  He was running the credit cards when Arya came in, giving a brief pat to Ghost on her way to sit on his desk.  “You look tired,” she noted.  “And determined.  You didn’t sleep last night, did you?  That car really got you freaked out.”

            Jon nodded, rubbing his eyes as he waited for the reports to process.  “I got complacent the last few days.  I was enjoying being happy for once and forgot that there was someone out there waiting for the right moment to rip it all away.”

            “That’s not going to happen,” Arya said, steel in her voice.  “We’ll get him, Jon.”

            “We can’t afford not to.”  His vision blurred and he groaned, easing out of his seat.  “I might get some caffeine out of the vending machine.  Want anything?”

            Arya stole his chair and watched the reports run.  “Sure.  I’ll need some caffeine too if we’re going to spend all day on this.  Maybe we could go to the motels and hotels with a picture of Viserys.”

            “We need a warrant for the arrest first and all we have right now are Craznys’s words,” Jon reminded her.  He was just turning away when Arya reached out and grabbed him by the wrist.  “Wait!  It just finished.”

            Jon leaned over the back of the chair to peer at the credit card activity report with Arya.  “I don’t believe it,” Arya said softly, a frown creasing her face.

            “What?” Jon asked.  He was only a third of the way through the page.

            Arya blinked a few times to be sure, then said, “The cards went unused for months, that’s part of why we couldn’t track him, but he just used one of them on Sunday at a drugstore in Winterfell.”

            A brick dropped into Jon’s stomach.  “Say that again.”

            “He was at a drugstore right here in Winterfell.  Look.  He bought something at the pharmacy at 1:30pm.  Let’s see if I can figure out what he bought…it was a prescription.”

            He remembered the phone calls to the doctor’s office and from the drugstore.  But why have the prescription sent to Winterfell?  “Which drugstore?”

            “CVS on Fifth Street.”

            The brick in his stomach melted down into acid and bile rose in Jon’s throat.  “Dany and I were in that drugstore.  At 1:30.”

            Arya looked to him with eyebrows raised.  She bolted out of the chair and pushed past him.  “Come on.  We might not be able to get the drug name from the credit card charge, but maybe there’s something we can learn at the drugstore.”

            They took Ghost with them and Jon couldn’t resist speeding a bit on the way to CVS.  When they got there, they went directly to the pharmacy section and Jon stepped up to the counter.  Mr. Luwin, the pharmacist looked to him in surprise.  “Is there something I can do for you folks?”

            “Yes,” Jon said.  “Yesterday you sold a prescription to a young man with white-blond hair.  Were you here?  Do you remember him?”

            Mr. Luwin frowned deeply.  “Oh yes, I remember him.  I can’t tell you what the prescription was.  That’s confidential information.”

            Jon gritted his teeth.  “Is there anything you can tell us?  About the conversation you have with him?  Was there anything he bought besides the prescription?”

            Mr. Luwin shrugged.  “Well, he was a rather arrogant young man.  Not likeable.  There was only the prescription, but I do remember him wandering the aisles quite a bit, like he was looking for something.”

            _Or stalking someone._   An idea hit Jon and he looked up.  Sure enough, a security camera was pointed right at him.  “Would there be security footage on file from when he was here?”

            “Why, yes.  I believe it has a twenty-four hour loop.”

            “May we see it?”

            “I’ll speak to our store manager.”

            After a conversation with the store manager, Jon and Arya found themselves crammed into a dingy backroom of the drugstore staring at a little black and white screen.  They rewound the footage to just before 1:30pm yesterday and squinted to watched the feed.  There was no sound and the camera had a limited view, but in a matter of minutes, Viserys Targaryen walked into view.  He had an arrogant walk, almost a strut, and his white hair was shoulder length and loose around his angular face.  He had a wide mouth and a nasty smirk that made Jon’s hands curl into fists.  He stood there talking, no doubt to Mr. Luwin, for a brief moment and paid for the prescription.  Then, he looked directly into the camera, directly into Jon’s eyes, and held up the bag with the prescription in it.  Arya paused the feed at that moment and leaned in so her nose nearly touched the screen.  “There’s a prescription name on it.”

            “Can you read it?” Jon asked.  His hands were beginning to shake.

            Arya squinted harder, frowning in concentration.  “Mi…miso…misopropol?  No, misoprostol.”

            “What the hell is that?”

            Arya pulled out her phone and searched the medication name.  “It treats stomach ulcers and is used to induce abortions.  That’s odd.  Obviously, he got it for a stomach ulcer.  But why would he hold it up like that?”

            His heart was pounding in his head, but there was no oxygen in his blood.  He had stopped breathing.  _Oh my fucking god, I’m going to kill this bastard.  I’m going to kill him if it’s the last thing I do and I’m going to feed him to the dogs._   “That’s not why he bought it.”

            Arya looked to him and froze at the horror on his face.  “Jon.  What’s going on?”

            His eyes were burning and sweat had broken out on his face and back so his blues stuck to him.  “Dany had a miscarriage two years ago and yesterday she was buying prenatal vitamins.”

            Aryra’s grey eyes bugged in shock.  “You’re saying…that Viserys was in that drugstore at the same time as you.  That Dany was buying something to try and cause pregnancy while Viserys was buying something to cause a miscarriage.”

            Jon tried to swallow, but his mouth was dry as sandpaper.  “Yes.  I need to call Dany.  Now.”

            Arya nodded stiffly and Jon turned away from her as he grabbed his phone.  _Fuck.  Fuck.  Fucking fucking hell.  Fucking godsdamnit hell.  Please, gods, please don’t let him fucking near her.  Fucking please, I’ll give fucking anything._ The phone rang three times before she answered.  “Jon?”

            “Dany…thank gods.  I need you to check that the House is secure.  And for gods’ sake, don’t eat or drink anything.”

            “Jon?”  Her breath had quickened and he could hear her and the pits moving about the house.  “What’s going on?”

            “He was in the drugstore with us, love.  Viserys.  He was buying a prescription to cause miscarriages.”

            He felt more than heard her freeze and could feel her heart shattering through the line.  When she spoke again, her voice was thin and choppy with tears.  “Jon…”

            “Love, I need you to get Missandei.  Talk to her.  Let her help you check the House.  I’m going to call Sansa and send her to you.  I have to try and track him.  Do you hear me?”

            “Y-yes.”

            “Okay.  Call for Missandei.  I’m not hanging up until she’s right by you.”

            He listened as Dany called for her friend in a quivering voice, listened to Missandei’s worried, _Gods, Dany, what’s going on?_ Then, a few moments later, he spoke again.  “Daenerys?”

            “I…I’m here.”

            “I love you, beautiful.  I’ll stay in touch, okay?”

            “Okay.  I love you, Jon.”

            “Good-bye.”  He’d scarcely hung up the phone and was calling Sansa, who answered on the first ring.  “Jon?  What is it?”

            “Dany is in danger.  I need you to go to the House and be with her until I can.”

            “What?  What’s going on?”

            “Viserys.  We have definitive proof that he stalked us yesterday and he bought a medication that causes miscarriages.”  The word stuck in his throat and a wave of nausea hit him.  That bastard would not kill their baby.  And if Viserys had killed Rhaego, Jon would put him in a box just like the one he’d been in in Iraq.  He’d leave him there for years.  “Sansa.  Dany had a miscarriage back in Essos.  And she and I are trying to get pregnant now.”

            “Fuck, Jon,” Sansa hissed.  He heard rapid movement and the shuffling of papers.  “I’m leaving the office now.  Don’t you dare do anything stupid.  We need to nail this bastard.  Is Arya there?”

            Jon met Arya’s steel-like eyes.  “She’s here.  She’ll keep me in check.”

            “Good.  I’ll see you soon then.”

            When he hung up with Sansa, Arya looked at him seriously.  “Let’s slow down, Jon.  How would Viserys know you and Dany are trying to get pregnant?  None of us knew, right?”

            Jon put his head in his hands and rubbed his temples.  “Dany saw a gynecologist a few weeks ago.  She thought she was unable to get pregnant again and wanted a second opinion.  If he stalked her there, he might have inferred that she was going to try again.”  He imagined the look that must have been on Dany’s face as she left that appointment and his stomach rolled.  “She would have left the appointment looking shocked.  Maybe happy.  He might even think she’s already pregnant.”

            Arya nodded slowly, the wheels turning in her head.  “We need to get ahead of him.  What’s he doing now?”

            Jon frowned and thought for a long time on what little he knew about Viserys.  “The way he looked into the camera, he wanted us to see that.  He wanted us to see the medication name.  He bought it with his credit card so we would see that.  He’s trying to get a reaction out of us.”

            “So he’s stalking.  Is he watching you or Dany?”

            Jon shook his head.  “I don’t know.  But I’ll bet my life his timeline has completely changed.  He thinks she’s pregnant and I’ll bet my ass he knows we’re engaged.  Whatever his endgame is, he’s moving it up.”

            Arya nodded, standing and leading them out of the back room.  She mumbled a quiet thanks to the store, then moved towards the exit of the drugstore with her eyes constantly moving, scanning for blond hair.  “I agree.  But what is the endgame?  Is it getting you out of the picture?  Is it hurting Daenerys?”

            _Rhaegar’s death broke my family and Viserys was never quite right after.  He could be harsh, possessive._

            “It’s not just about me.  He wants her.  She’s his only family and he wants to own her the way he did when they were kids.  He wants her to be weak enough and broken enough to go back to him.”

            “Is that even possible?”

            “No, but he can’t bear to let it go.  His brother is dead, his parents are dead, and his sister is about to become a wife and mother, making her unreachable.  He can’t let that happen.”

            They broke through the front doors of the drugstore and made for the squadcar.  There was no sign of a black Trans Am anywhere.  Jon scrambled behind the wheel of the squad.  “He’s at the House.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the cliffhanger, but I promise the next chapter won't be far off.


	20. Turning Point

 

Thank you to NoOrdinaryLines for the amazing mood board!!

 

           _The House is secure.  I am safe.  Jon will find him.  The House is secure.  I am safe.  Jon will find him.  The House is secure.  I am safe.  Jon will find him…._

            On and on she repeated the mantra in her head while Missandei and Sansa tried to soothe her.  Her Kimber was loaded at her hip, but her hands were shaking so badly she doubted she’d be able to use it effectively.  Maybe she should just hand it off to cool, collected Sansa.

            _Did he kill Rhaego?  Did he poison me and my tiny little son?_

            He wouldn’t do that.  He wouldn’t.  It was a threat, a threat meant to upset Jon.  Whatever Viserys was and wasn’t, he had no desire to alienate her.  He needed her.

            That was what she told herself.

            They were out on the deck now, trying to take some solace in the fresh air and the returned sun.  The dogs laid around their feet, on guard.  But she felt no security, only anxiety.  She was shaking all over and her breaths came in rattling little pants.  She needed a Xanax.  And some hot tea.

            _The House is secure.  I am safe.  Jon will find him._

            Her chest caved in and the air seeped out of her.  Her throat tightened and her stomach rolled.  Her lungs began to ache and her ribs burned where they crushed her diaphragm.  “Dany?” Sansa said.  “Dany, come on, honey.  Breathe.  Dany, breathe.”

            She pushed out of her chair and fled into the house, struggling to put in the security code with the way her hands shook.  Her purse was on the counter and she rifled through it until she found a Xanax.  She knew those pills.  They had not been replaced by poison.  She took one dry, gagging at the acrid taste clinging to her tongue, and braced herself against the counter as she waited.  Her ribs stopped contracting and, after a long moment, her lungs and throat followed suit until she could take a deep breath.  She waved to a concerned Sansa who was peering through the patio door at her, then went to her tea kettle.  She would surely recognize some form of tampering to her tea and she needed the hot liquid to soothe her.

            She was so consumed by breathing and by watching the kettle heat that she didn’t hear the footsteps behind her.  It was the voice that awoke her.  “Sweet sister.”

            Dany spun around, her back to the stove, and stared into the eyes of her brother, standing right there in her kitchen.  _How the fuck had he gotten in?_   He looked just the same as he had in Essos, when he’d stood on the sidewalk with the wind whipping at his long hair, his violet eyes sparking with anger and possessive need.  His hair was a bit longer now and he wasn’t wearing it pinned back like he usually did, but the manic eyes and the sharp-edged grin were the same.  Her hand went to her gun on her waist.  “Viserys.”

            Viserys held up one finger and softly said, “Tsk tsk.  Don’t you draw that gun, sweet sister.  I’m just here to talk.”

            “Talk?” she spat.  “You broke into my house!  You conned an abuser to break into my house and almost got him killed!”

            Viserys tilted his head in that patronizing way he did, taking a step forward into the kitchen.  “I was just trying to get to know you a bit.  After the way you chased me off in Essos, I had to resort to drastic measures.”

            “Why are you really here, Viserys?”  She held up her left hand knuckles-out so he could see the ring.  “Is it because I’m finally happy for once?  You can’t resist a chance to ruin that for me?”

            “Always so dramatic.”  His eyes darkened as he stared at the ring, though, and his focus gave her a chance to take the safety off on her gun.  “You don’t belong with him, Dany.  You belong with me.  You always have.”

            “No.  There was a time when I belonged to Drogo.  A time when I belonged to myself.  And now I belong to Jon, not you.”  Her hands were shaking again.  It would be hard to draw the gun and fire a decent shot fast enough.

            Viserys’s jaw tightened to stone and he shook his head.  “Oh no.  You belong to _me._   That pretty little bastard you’re shacking up with can’t have you.  He hardly even knows you.”

            Her blood began to simmer in her veins, bubbling and hissing in anger.  She shook her head slowly in fury.  “How dare you talk that way about him.  You know nothing about him.  And clearly you know nothing about me anymore if you think I’m yours.”

            Viserys’s face turned livid and he lurched forward.  She had her gun drawn and the barrel halfway up when she felt the point of the knife at her belly and froze.  The world slowed to a crawl and her breaths became tiny little sobs in her chest, begging for him not to drive that knife into her womb.  The Kimber dropped from her hand and landed on the floor with a clatter.  “You _are_ mine, sweet sister,” Viserys hissed.  His grin widened so he looked deranged.  Maybe he was deranged.  “You’re coming with me.  He can keep the baby.  I’ll cut it out and leave it for him.  Or you can swallow a few of these nice little pills I got you.  It worked well enough last time.”

            _Rhaego…._ Her blood threatened to explode from her veins.  The tea kettle began to whistle, then scream, echoing her panic.  Her teeth were gritted so hard she thought she’d shatter them.  Any move could set him off and kill their little one.  “You’re right,” she said, her voice as calm and cool as she could possibly make it.  “I’m yours, Viserys, I always have been.  Put the knife down and we’ll have some tea.  Make plans.”  His brow furrowed in skepticism and she gave him the smile she had perfected when she was sixteen, the soft, weak little smile that told him everything he wanted to hear.  “I love you, Viserys.  You’re my brother and we belong together.”

            He lowered the knife, an incredulous, almost apologetic smile on his face.  He looked so young and foolish in that moment, like the little boy who had looked up to Rhaegar with stars in his eyes.  “That’s all I wanted.”

            He backed up a step, then another, and Dany held that soft little smile as she turned to clasp the handle of the tea kettle.  Then, she whirled around, using her momentum to smash the kettle into his face hard enough to send him tumbling into a heap on the floor, the _clang_ surely enough to alert the girls in the backyard. 

The smile was utterly gone now as her brother moaned and whimpered on her kitchen floor.  Everything she saw was in shades of red, shades of fury and wrath.  “Did you think I was still the frightened little girl you raped and tortured?” she asked, her voice as cold and as sharp as ice.  “Dear brother, I have been through all seven hells these few years.  I am not a fragile little girl anymore.”  Slowly, she raised the tea kettle over Viserys’s head.  He froze and looked up to her with wide violet eyes, extending a hand in fear.  “Dany…”

            With a tilt of her wrist, Daenerys poured the boiling water down onto her brother, watching as the skin of his face and hand seared red, as he screamed bloody murder, as his flesh bubbled and melted to the tune of a hissing sound.  The dogs were trying to tear down the patio door and the security alarm went off as Missandei rushed through the door, freezing at the edge of the counter and screaming at the sight.  The dogs barreled in after her and paused at the sight of Viserys sobbing and moaning on the floor.  Drogon looked to Dany, waiting for her order.

            Dany looked to her brother, then to her dog, and then to her brother again.  “You will never, ever, come within a hundred miles of me again.  If you do, you will die screaming.”

            “Dany!” Viserys sobbed.

            Dany dropped the tea kettle to the floor, causing Viserys to flinch and scramble backward in fear.  “You should leave and get those burns attended to, brother.  I expect they’ll leave terrible scars.”

            “Dany, please…”

            Dany looked to Drogon.  “You have three seconds before my dogs will follow you.  If you can’t outrun them, well, you will have underestimated my house for the last time.”

            Viserys’s eyes danced between Dany, the dogs, Missandei and Sansa frozen on the other side of the counter, and the gun and knife on the floor.  For a moment, he seemed ready to bolt for the front door.  Then, there was a wild knocking on the door and Jon’s voice echoed through to the kitchen.  “Dany!  Open the door!”

            In an instant, Sansa bolted for the front door and Viserys launched across the floor and grabbed her Kimber.  Drogon flinched and growled viciously, leading the pits in a chorus of fury.  Dany held out her hand to hold the dogs back as the barrel of her gun rested against her pelvis.  All the anger rushed out of her to be replaced with icy fear.  Heavy footsteps raced into the house and Missandei screamed, “No!  No, stop!  He’ll kill her!”

            Her eyes snapped to Jon’s the moment he rounded the corner, gun raised.  He froze and his grey eyes turned to knives.  “Viserys,” he said slowly.  “You don’t want to hurt her.  Shooting her isn’t going to win her back.”

            “Shut up, you stupid bastard!” Viserys snarled.  His face was red and orange from the scalding she’d given him and the pain was taking its toll.  He looked absolutely mad.  He jabbed the gun into her belly and she flinched.  Tears burned her eyes.  _Please gods, please.  Don’t let him shoot me.  Don’t let him rip apart my womb.  Don’t let me die in front of Jon.  Please._   “Dany, we’re going home.”

            “Viserys, I will blow your fucking brains out if you don’t get that gun away from her!” Jon snapped.  “You’re not going to shoot her, you love her too much.  So point that gun somewhere else!”

            Viserys’s eyes flashed and he looked to Jon.  “How about at you, Snow?” he snarled.  In an instant, he had directed the gun at Jon and fired.  The dogs cowered and Missandei screamed.  Jon anticipated the shot and dodged it, firing off two rounds that hit Viserys in the chest.  He stumbled back against the counter, but kept the gun aimed high and sent three rounds into Jon’s chest, knocking him to the floor.

            Dany’s heart stopped.

            And then she turned her gaze to her brother, the man who had raped her, tortured her, humiliated her.  The man who had taken her son Rhaego from her, maybe taken her husband Drogo too.  The man who had pointed first a knife and then a gun at her womb and threatened to cut out her baby.  The man who tried to kill Jon.  “Drogon,” she said in a voice like iron.  “Kill.”

            Drogon lunged without a moment’s thought.  He knew that word without question, had been a fight dog briefly before she rescued them.  And he knew his mother as well as she knew herself.  All eighty pounds of Drogon landed squarely on Viserys’s chest and the gun went off twice into the ceiling as Drogon buried his teeth in Viserys’s throat.  Her brother let out a strangled scream, then only whimpered and thrashed under Drogon as the big dog ripped his throat out with a sickening tearing sound.  When Drogon stopped, Dany watched her brother’s feet twitch and listened to the gurgling at his throat.  Then, he was still.

            When it was done, Dany dropped to her knees.  Drogon came to her, his face inches from hers with her brother’s lifeblood dripping from his jowls.  She rubbed his ears and kissed his forehead, her hands and lips quivering.  “That’s my brave boy.  Good dog.”

            Drogon licked his lips and backed away to stand amongst his brothers.  Dany turned her gaze immediately to Jon, who was sprawled on the floor.  His head was up and his eyes were on Viserys.  Dany scrambled to him and saw that he wasn’t bleeding.  When she laid her shaking hands on his chest, she felt the weight of his vest underneath.  “Just winded, love,” he assured her, wheezing a bit.  “Is he dead?”

            “Oh yeah,” Arya said from the corner of the front hall.  She holstered her gun and moved forward to check Viserys over.  “He’s super dead.”

            Jon sighed in relief and tugged Dany down to him to kiss her.  The kiss was firm and needy with fear and she was shaking even worse when he released her.  Jon got to his knees, groaning, and cradled her face in his hands, nuzzling her nose with his.  “It’s okay, love.  He’s never going to hurt you again.  You’re safe now.”

            “Gods, Daenerys,” Sansa said weakly, her tear-muddled eyes locked on Drogon.  “I’m never going to look at that dog the same way again.”

            Dany stretched out a hand to Drogon and he came close enough for her to hug him hard around his muscly shoulders.  “He saved my life.  And he saved our baby.”

            Jon extended an arm and Drogon moved to rub his big head against Jon’s chest.  Jon groaned in pain, but hugged Drogon all the same.  “You’re a good dog.  Yes, you’re such a good dog.”

           

\------------------

 

            They’d had to call in Jaime Lannister, the emergency response crew, and the coroner.  Not a word was spoken about action against Drogon.  Jaime even gave the black pitbull a good ear rub in passing.  Jon had some nasty bruising on his chest and possibly a cracked rib, but nothing worth a visit to the hospital over.  After extensive photographs were taken of the kitchen, the coroner laid Viserys in a black bag and Dany watched as he zipped it shut, hiding from sight the bloody mess that had been Viserys’s throat, the half melted, mottled skin of his face, and his luminescent blond hair so like hers.

            He was dead.

            Irri arrived home from work as the crews were finishing up and listened to a recap of the events from a shaky Missandei.  Irri was the one, Dany later found out, who took the time to scrub up Viserys’s blood before the stains set on the kitchen floor.

            The first thing Jon did when he got off the floor was ransack Viserys’s pockets.  He found the tiny bottle of misoprostol and counted the pills frantically until he was satisfied that not a single pill had been used.  He later pushed Arya and Jaime to keep looking until they found the hole in the House’s security.  It ended up being a second story window left cracked that Viserys had managed to climb up into using the front porch.

            He was dead. 

            When the excitement was finally over, she drew a scalding hot bath and sunk into it, closing her eyes to breathe in the steam and the sweet, spicy scent of her bath oils.  It felt like being cleansed on the inside as well as the outside, like having her soul scrubbed clean of the black stains Viserys had left on it.  Before long, Jon joined her, sliding into the tub behind her and pulling her up onto his lap so her head draped against his neck.  “Doesn’t this hurt?” she asked him softly.  “Your chest…”

            “I’m fine, love.  I promise.”

            So, they laid there like that in the hot water, touching and kissing like they were treasuring every second.  Dany certainly was.  She kept kissing his hands and wrists, his neck, his cheek, all the while remembering with vivid clarity watching his body jerk with each of those three bullets, watching him crumple to the floor.  Jon kissed trails all along her shoulders and neck, raised her hands in his to kiss her palms or her wrists.  His hands stroked her breasts, her thighs, and lingered at her belly where Viserys had pressed that gun.  When she flinched at a tiny stab of pain on her skin, Jon froze.  “What is it, love?”

            Her eyes fell shut and nausea rolled through her.  She knew where that little pinprick had come from.  She’d never forget.  “He held a knife to me.  The tip of it must have just barely broken my skin.”

            Jon’s right hand cupped her belly gently while his left curled into a fist at her hip.  “He held a knife to you?”

            She nodded once stiffly, the anger coming back.  “He threatened to cut the baby out and leave it for you.  I hit him over the head with the tea kettle and poured boiling water on his face.”  Jon was shaking with anger and seemed ready to speak, but she cut him off.  “Jon.  He killed Rhaego.”

            Jon sighed sadly and kissed her neck.  “I’m sorry, love.”

            She shut her eyes tight to keep back the tears.  “What if he poisoned Drogo too?”

            “It doesn’t matter now, love.  Viserys is dead.  He can’t take anything more from you.”

            Dany wound her fingers into his over her belly.  “I need to take a pregnancy test.”

            “I was thinking the same thing, love.  We’ll do it when we’re done here.  Just relax now.”

            She was finally able to relax as he unwound her braids and gently washed her hair, then combed her hair with his fingers and rebraided it into one strong plait down her back.  “I didn’t think…”

            “That I could braid hair?” he finished, chuckling.  “I can’t do French braids like you do, or the little ones.  My fingers weren’t meant for that.  But I got suckered into doing braids for a sister or two when I was little.”

            She smiled at the thought of a little Jon braiding Sansa’s hair into pigtails while Arya made faces at them.  Or, more likely, a little Jon braiding Arya’s hair back so she could play soccer more effectively.  “I’ve never asked.  How old were you when the Starks took you in?”

            “I was four,” Jon answered, tying off the braid with the hair tie that had been in it originally.  “They wanted Robb to have a brother to grow up with and you know how big a heart Catelyn has.  They didn’t have the little ones yet, you see, just Robb”

            “Do you know anything about your biological parents?” she asked softly.

            “I know that my mom’s dead,” Jon said sadly.  Dany twisted in the tub to face him, her heart seizing.  There was a crease in his brow and he wouldn’t meet her eyes, preferring to study her braid.  “She died in a car accident.  My dad was never in the picture.  Catelyn told me.”

            Dany’s hand found his under the water and squeezed it.  “I’m sorry.”

            Jon shrugged, but still didn’t meet her gaze.  “It sucks that I was never able to really know her.  But I found a family who loved me.”  He met her gaze then and squeezed her hand back, his grey eyes molten with feeling and sincerity.  “And I found you.  You’re my family now.”

            She looked down at their clasped hands, at where their bodies met in the water and where her ring glinted at her even through the haze of the bath oils.  “You’re right.  We’re family now.”

            Jon tilted her chin up with the tip of a finger and pressed a long, soft kiss to her lips.  Warmth and peace seeped into her veins and she turned the rest of the way around to straddle him.  He cradled her face in his hands as they kissed harder now and she did the same to him, her fingertips grazing his soft black curls, the heels of her hands curling around soft skin chased with stubble.  His thumbs pressed soft, sweet lines along her cheekbones as his tongue teased her upper lip.  She let him in and their tongues danced together slowly, wrapped up in both longing and savoring.  Jon’s fingertips ghosted over her eyelids, her temples, her jawline.  Sighs slipped from her lips with every achingly gentle touch, then every kiss laid on her skin as Jon’s lips moved to her cheeks, her nose, her forehead, her jaw.  When he tipped her chin up with his thumbs and began kissing her neck, the sighs turned to moans, and when his tongue teased at the base of her throat, the moans turned to gasps.  Her fingers curled into his hair and pulled him back up to kiss her mouth again, faster this time, deeper.  Jon’s hands moved from the base of her skull to her shoulders and back, arching her body against him so he could kiss her that much harder, even as her breasts pressed against him and her knees hit the wall of the tub, her center rubbing against his hardening cock.

            She was overwhelmed by how real this felt, by the warmth of his skin on his, by the taste of his tongue in her mouth, by the pressure of his fingers against her back.  And, by how real it had been when his body reeled from those three shots, by the sound of his body hitting the kitchen floor.  Tears burned her eyes and she whimpered against his mouth, “Jon…I need you.”

            “Are you sure, love?  After everything…”

            “You could have died!”  The tears burned her cheeks and Jon’s hands found her cheeks again, wiping away the tears.  She opened her eyes to meet his gaze through the fog.  “If he’d hit your head…or if you hadn’t been wearing your vest…”

            “But I didn’t die,” Jon said firmly.  “And neither did you, love.  That bastard threatened you with a knife and what did you do?  You smashed his head with a tea kettle and scalded him with boiling water.  We’re alive.”

            “Yes,” she said, slipping one hand under the water to take his cock in hand.  Jon stiffened and his lips parted in desire and she squeezed him softly.  “We’re alive.  And I need to know this is real.  I need to feel it.”

            Jon shifted under her, his hands finding her hips and pulling her forward to drag her folds around his cock.  When her lips parted in hunger, he slowly pushed her back off him, then pulled her forward again.  “This is real, love.  And I’ll prove it if that’s what you want.”

            “Please.”

            “Good,” he said, his voice husky with need.  “That’s what I want too.”

            His right hand slipped under the water and his fingertips found her center, exploring between her folds, around her clit, and just barely inside her.  Dany moaned and her head fell back, her eyes shut in ecstasy.  His left hand pressed into her waist, pulling her up off of him just enough that he could slide his fingers inside her.  Her mouth opened into an “O” and Jon softly kissed the corner of her mouth, his fingers pumping in and out of her slowly at first, then faster.  She rolled her hips as if it was automatic, drawing him in deeper and whimpering at the feel of his fingers against her walls, all around her.  Jon groaned and in a low voice, murmured against her cheek.  “You ready, love?”

            “Please…” she whimpered.

            His hand on her waist moved to her ass, pulling her up off of him.  She couldn’t help the whine that left her lips as his hand slipped away from her, or the groan as he brought her down on his cock, slowly filling her.  Her hands found his shoulders and gripped him hard, fighting his hands on her hips to lower herself faster.  Jon tightened his grip on her and brushed his lips against hers.  “Easy, love.  Indulge me.  I want to feel every inch of you.”

            “Gods, Jon…” she moaned, digging her nails into him now.  Jon groaned, but didn’t release her, holding onto her until her was finally sheathed inside her and she was whimpering with need.  He pulled her off him just as slowly, pushing her back rather than lifting her so she could feel him rub oh so slowly against her G-spot.  “Jon, please…” she moaned.

            “Hang in there, love,” he murmured.  He slipped out of her just barely, his tip catching on her clit and rubbing there.  Dany’s lips parted and she opened her eyes just enough to lock gazes with him.  His pupils were blown so wide his eyes were more black than grey and his lips were parted just as hers were.  Painfully slowly, he pushed her back onto him, his member stroking her G-spot with every inch.  Her walls clenched around him and her eyes slammed shut at the pleasure and agony rippling through her.  “Oh gods, Jon…please…I’m going to come.”

            His hands shifted on her hips so his thumbs could reach between her legs.  Every muscle in her body seized when he began to flick at her nub and stroke her folds.  “Then come, beautiful.  I want to feel it.”

            “Oh gods…” she whimpered.  When he was fully inside her, he paused and one of his thumbs dipped down to the edge of her entrance and applied just enough pleasure to make her squirm in his arms.  His mouth found hers and she screamed against his kiss as her release washed through her, every muscle clenching, every nerve firing. 

            When she was done, she sagged against his chest and it was his arms wrapped around her that kept her from sliding boneless into the tub.  Jon kissed her face over and over, whispering nonsense to her.  When she acquired enough sense of place to unclench her fingers from his shoulders, Jon kissed her forehead and whispered, “Does it feel real yet, love?”

            “No,” she said wearily.  “Making love to you will always feel like a beautiful dream.”

            Jon chuckled and kissed her lips softly, hers slow to respond as the sparks lit them.  “Let me take you to bed, love.”

            “Mmm…what are you going to do to me there?”

            “Don’t worry.  Your muscles are not required.”

             “Oh good.” She smiled and opened her eyes.  The first thing she saw were the narrow trails of blood coming from his shoulder.  She sat up abruptly to examine the wounds.  Sure enough, there were four open wounds in the shape of fingernails on his shoulder.  “Oh gods.  You should have said something.  I can’t believe I made you bleed.”

            Jon laughed softly and kissed her cheek.  “They’re battle scars, love, and I wear them with pride.  That’s not the first time you’ve drawn my blood anyway.”  She met his gaze with wide eyes, but saw only humor and pride there.  He gave her a crooked smile and his eyes sparkled with mirth as he said in that low voice, “It makes me quite happy to have reminders of how hard I made you come.  It’s not so different from those marks you had on your wrists from the handcuffs.”

            “But…this must hurt much more.”

            Jon shrugged.  “Yeah, but every time they twinge or open in the shower, I see the look on your face while you were giving them to me.  I’ll take the pain any day.”

            Dany smiled at the thought of Jon smirking in the shower, blood seeping from his ‘battle scars.’  “Well, I suppose you can take me to bed, then, as long as you promise not to bleed on the sheets.”

            Jon grinned.  “I promise.”

            He drained the tub and helped her stand to dry off, then carried her like a damsel to the bed, laying her gently with her head on the pillow.  He knelt on the bed by her feet and carefully drew her knees up and parted them.  The tiniest flicker of shyness rippled through her, chased off the moment he laid a kiss on her mound.  A soft moan slipped from her lips and Jon kissed his way along her folds, then dipped his tongue inside her to taste her.  “Gods, you taste divine, Dany.  I want to buy stock in those bath oils.”

            She giggled, then quieted suddenly as his tongue slid inside her again.  Her hands went to his damp, curly hair and wound into it as he lapped at her, the tip of his tongue carefully tracing her G-spot so her legs clenched around him and she whimpered.  The man knew her body better than she did.  “Jon, please…don’t tease me, I can’t bear it.”

            “Don’t worry, love,” he said.  She could feel his lips curling into a smile against her.  “I promise only to tease you enough to get you wet for me.  Then I’m going to fuck you until it feels real.”

            His lips closed around her nub and she shamelessly dug her fingers into his hair to hold him down as he sucked on her until she approached sobs.  Then, he slipped from her grasp and moved over her, his mouth finding hers in a needy kiss.  She drew his tongue into her mouth, just as needy, and tasted herself on him.  It was laced with the spices and sweetness of her bath oils, tasting of vanilla and cardamom amidst the headiness.  One of his hands stretched across her lower back, sliding down to her waist, and she whimpered at the feel of his cock at her entrance.  He paused for a moment until she was thrashing under him fighting to get him inside her.  Then, he drove himself into her hard and fast, sending her whole body into an arch and her lips parting in a gasp of shock.  Jon kissed her neck and asked in a throaty voice, “You okay, love?”

            “Yes.  Oh gods, Jon…”

            He pulled away from her and rammed into her again and again, just as hard and fast as the first time.  She spread her legs wider and pulled her knees up closer to her body, letting him in deeper until he was hammering against the wall of her womb.  Gods, it felt like heaven to have him so deep inside her and like sweet, delicious sin to have him thrusting against her like that.  She dug her fingers into his tight, perfect ass, pulling him into her with each thrust, egging him on as he ravaged her.  His hand on her waist lifted her a few inches off the bed and that tiny shift in angle was enough to make her moan and cry out.  Jon wrenched one of her hands off of him with his free hand and laid it on the pillow over her head, pinning her down.  She opened her eyes and locked gazes with him.  His brow was furrowed in concentration and effort and his eyes were pitch black with desire, his lips parted and gasping right along with her for air, their chests rising and falling against each other.  She brought her other hand up and he pinned both hands, a crooked grin stretching across his lips.  That desperation of having him completely in charge of her body sent the desire and pleasure rippling through her that much faster and soon she was moaning and bucking against him so hard she was sure she’d have bruises.  “Oh fuck, Dany,” he groaned.  “Gods…”

            Dany arched up against him and kissed under his jaw, her tongue dancing on his skin.  “I want you to come, Jon,” she murmured against him.  On the next thrust she cried out in pleasure, then said, “Now.  Come for me.”

            He growled and buried his face in her neck as his cock buried itself in her.  She could feel his body jerk with the force of his release and she came along with him, reveling in the feel of his heat inside her. 

            For a long time, they just laid like that, gasping for air.  When Jon rolled off of her except for an arm across her middle and his head on her breast, she saw that he had a loose, satisfied grin on his face.  “I’ll never ever get tired of fucking you,” he grumbled.  “Not as long as I live.”

            “The same to you, love,” she said, borrowing his nickname for her.  Jon smiled just a bit wider and she ran her fingers slowly through his wild hair.

            After a while, the agony of not knowing that had been simmering inside her since Viserys had held that knife to her womb took precedence again.  _He can keep the baby.  I’ll cut it out and leave it for him._   She slipped out of Jon’s arms and he watched wordlessly as she retreated to the bathroom.  She’d bought a pregnancy test along with the prenatal vitamins and used both sticks now, laying them discreetly facedown on the edge of the sink to wait.  When she emerged from the bathroom it was to find Jon sitting on the edge of the bed, watching her every move.  She sought out a clean pair of panties and a bra from the drawer, then added a soft t-shirt and her favorite pair of jeans.  Jon didn’t stop watching her as he pulled on boxers and a pair of jeans too, then added his dogtags and a black t-shirt.  When they were both dressed, they sat on the end of the bed together and Jon put his arm around Dany.  The tears were already beginning to burn in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall until she knew.  She had done what felt like a thousand pregnancy tests in her life.  First it was when Viserys was using her and she took each test with terror that it would be positive.  Then it was with Drogo and she took each test with terror that it would be negative.  There was nothing that could put her through an emotional wringer like waiting for a pregnancy test.

            She glanced at the alarm clock and swallowed hard, then looked to Jon.  “It’s time.”

            Jon shut his eyes and kissed her forehead soft and warm.  “Whatever it is, love, it will be okay.  I promise.  We’ll figure it out.”

            She took his hand in hers and squeezed it to show her gratitude for the words.  Then, they stood together and went into the bathroom.  Dany took one stick and handed the other to Jon facedown.  Jon locked gazes with her and she said in a voice choked by tears, “We’ll do it together.  Ready?”  Jon nodded and they both turned over the sticks.

            A wrenching sob twisted through her and she dropped the pregnancy test to put her face in her hands and cry.  Jon dropped his too and grabbed her in a fierce hug, kissing her hair and her hands over her face until she pried them away to let him kiss the tears from her cheeks.  “Oh gods, Dany,” he whispered, his voice as shaky as hers.  “Gods, I love you.  I love you so damn much.”

            She looked down through the tears at the floor, where both sticks lay face-up, the two pink positive signs winking at her.  “Oh gods.  We’re going to be parents, Jon.  Oh gods…”

            Jon laughed and kissed her hard on the mouth.  Tears from his cheeks mixed with the ones on hers as they kissed and held each other so hard her chest began to ache, but she didn’t let him go.  “Oh thank the gods,” she gasped.  “I love you, Jon.”

            “I love you, Dany.”


	21. A New Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was so satisfied with killing off Viserys that it took me a few days to come back to this, but I did come back and broke 100k this week. :) Unless a new villain presents themself, I expect that my updates on this story will be a little slower than in the past as I now have the confidence to work on other projects at the same time. If you miss me, comment and tell me so and I'll keep going with this! I'd like to at least get to the wedding and the encouragement really makes a difference. Also, a few of you know that I do write professionally, so if you miss me and you loved this story partly because of my writing and not just because you love Jonerys, consider checking out "Poe: Nevermore", the first book in my series, on Amazon for $1.99 (shameless plug). My pen name for those books is Rachel M. Martens.
> 
> I hope you like this chapter and the direction we're going now that Viserys's weaselly ass is in the past. ;) XOXO

            Dany, his Dany, was pregnant.  His ring was on her finger and his baby was growing inside her.  He had given her what she had never thought she would ever have.  He was on cloud fucking nine.

            When they ran out of tears, they returned to bed and just held each other, laughing and kissing and smiling like fools.  Dany glowed with joy and was that much more beautiful because of it.  He unwound each of her braids and combed her soft hair with her fingers, promising to take care of her no matter what, that she’d never have to be afraid again.

            Jon wanted to sing, but he asked Dany tentatively when she wanted to tell people.  That glow faded for a minute as she thought about it, then softly answered twelve weeks.  She would have waited longer if she didn’t know from experience that she would be showing soon after that.  He must have promised her a thousand times that he’d take care of her and they would do it right this time, that she would not lose this baby as she had Rhaego.  No amount of reassurance would wipe that fear wholly from her beautiful violet eyes, though.

            “We need to talk about the House,” he said softly.  She didn’t meet his gaze, but nodded in agreement.  He knew how important the House was to her, but he didn’t like the idea of her waking up afraid every time a new resident came along, or being a target for break-ins.  He also didn’t like those fucking stairs that were going to kill someone someday.  He certainly wouldn’t let it be her or their baby.  A thought occurred to him and he turned it over carefully in his head before voicing it.  “Have you considered that Missandei might take it over?  At least temporarily.”

            Dany frowned and met his gaze then, but remained quiet for a minute as she considered it.  “Maybe.  She’s been doing really well with Craznys in lockup and after the trial on Wednesday…maybe she would be up to it.  I know her work experience is pretty dodgy so if nothing else she needs something to put on her resume.  She’s good enough with people and gets along well with Catelyn and Sansa.”

            “We have time to figure it out.  Let’s give it a week at least and see how she’s doing after the trial.”

            She nodded in agreement, then asked quietly, “Where would we live?”

            Jon sighed and kissed her forehead.  _Not here.  Not where I’m dying inside worrying about you all the time._   “My lease goes until the end of October.  We could stay at my place temporarily if you think it’s a good idea.  I’d like to have a house, though.”

            The tiniest smile curved her lips.  “Me too.”

            “Somewhere quiet.  I loved growing up out in the country.”  Sweet, simple memories came back to him of playing baseball in the big backyard with the Stark kids, of chasing the goats and the chickens around, of dutifully helping Catelyn plant and weed the garden each season and being so proud watching everything grow.  He couldn’t help smiling just thinking about it.  “I like the idea of the dogs having space to run around, and our little one having that space too when she’s old enough.  I like the idea of you sitting on a porch swing sipping your tea in the morning and enjoying all that quiet open sky.”

            Dany’s eyes sparkled and she smiled a little more.  “You think it’s a girl?”

            He had said _she._   Did he think it was a girl?  Or was it a Freudian slip telling her he wanted it to be a girl?  For a moment, he was caught up in what seemed to be a question of cosmic proportions, but then he smiled and shrugged.  “I don’t know.  I do like the idea of it being a girl, but if we’re going to have a daughter, I guess I’d rather she had an older brother to take care of her and help me scare the boys that come knocking.  If she’s half as beautiful as you she’ll have a hundred suitors.”

            Her smile grew and she shook her head at him.  “Jon Snow, I have faith that you’ll be plenty enough of a protector if we have a girl.  Do you really want to buy a house in the country?  Most of what I have is tied up in the House.  All that space is expensive and I wouldn’t be much help with financing.”

            So, either she had spent Drogo’s life insurance on the House and owned it free and clear or close to it, or Drogo hadn’t had life insurance.  She hadn’t worked much outside of the House, at least not that she’d told him about, so this wasn’t really a surprise.  “Well,” he said, “I didn’t exactly have much to spend my salary on in the army, knowing that I was just going to pack up and leave it all to go on tour again, and I got used to that.  My apartment is pretty close to empty.  I have enough saved up to get us pretty far.”

            “I’d need to get a job.”

            Like hell he’d let her work pregnant.  As stressed as she already was and with how stressed she’d be as she approached twenty weeks and the time she lost Rhaego?  No way.  She needed time to take care of herself and to enjoy being pregnant without being afraid.  “Not until after the little one comes at least,” he said, hoping he could figure out a way to present this that didn’t make him sound like an ass.  “You need to take care of yourself, love, and when we do get a house there will be plenty to keep you busy getting it ready for the baby.”  Dany’s lip curled a bit as if she wasn’t convinced and he knew why.  This would be a huge forfeiture of control for someone who was able to function only by feeling in control.  The last thing he wanted was for her to be uncomfortable or anxious.  He stroked her hair as he explained gently, “Love, I’m not trying to be chauvinistic asshole.  I only want you to be happy and healthy and we will have a lot to do to get ready.  I don’t have much of anything to my name and you’ll probably leave a lot of your stuff behind with the House, right?  We’ll have a lot of space to make our own and to grow into.  And there’s the wedding to plan and recover from.  I expect that will totally consume our lives for the next three, four months.  And Christmas will keep us busy right after.  We have a lot to do and already have a busy schedule to deal with.  I’m not asking you to totally leave the House behind or to never work.  I just worry about you living here pregnant or with a little one to chase around.  I make good enough money that we don’t have to worry about the financial side.  Let’s just focus on being happy.”

            Dany pursed her lips and looked to him with searching eyes.  After a heavy moment, she nodded and said softly, “You’re right.  I need to take care of myself and there will be a lot to do.  I might need something to do to keep me sane, though, after the baby comes.”

            “We’ll talk about it then.”  He smiled at the thought of Dany with a little one on her hip.  “You might find you like having free time to spoil her.”

            She smiled a little sheepishly and he kissed her for it. 

            They started looking at houses online, then, scrolling through Zillow and oohing and aahing at some of the beautiful places that people were in a hurry to try and sell before the snow fell.  Dany sent emails to a few of the owners and realtors to schedule showings, grinning at the excitement of it all.  Jon hadn’t really known what he was saving all that money for, but he’d known it would be worth it and it was.  They were going to have a house together, he and Dany.

            Gods, he could fucking sing.  If he had been told a month ago that he’d soon have the girl of his dreams, a baby, and a house, he would have shaken his head and thought the idea mad.

            Eventually, they emerged from the bedroom so Dany could start dinner.  While he played with the dogs and she cooked, Dany talked with Irri and Missandei about wedding things that he hardly understood and he just smiled like a damn fool.  Gods, he’d never been so happy in his life.

 

\------------------

 

            Craznys’s trial took three days and ended with Jon driving Dany, Sansa, Irri, and Missandei to Wildlings for a celebration night.  Greyworm and Arya met them there and Greyworm smiled and gave Missandei a hug, showing ten times the emotion Jon had ever seen him exhibit.  Missandei was glowing and bubbling, actually laughing full-force and giggling over her drink at jokes.  Thanks to Dany and Sansa, she was free.

            He wished he could have seen the whole trial.  He was able to be there on Thursday, sitting beside a very grim Greyworm near the back of the courtroom while Judge Tyrell put Cersei Lannister and her client through the wringer at every opportunity.  When Cersei tried to bring up the threat of the dogs, Judge Tyrell snapped at her that if she hadn’t pressed charges for the dog bites, she sure as hell shouldn’t bring them up here.  When Sansa walked a sobbing Missandei through some of her experiences with that fucking dog collar, he could see on the jurors’ faces that the case was closed.  Craznys would spend the rest of his life in prison.

            When he got their drinks, Jon asked Tormund for a water in a drink glass with a lime on the rim and Tormund raised an eyebrow at him.  The stupid grin he’d been wearing for most of the week gave him away and Tormund eyed Dany for a moment, then grabbed Jon from across the bar for an awkward half-hug.  “It was my advice, wasn’t it?  You showed her your scars, you fucked her, and you put a baby Snow in her.”

            “Don’t tell a soul,” Jon warned his friend as he released him.  “She’s really nervous about it and wants to wait a few weeks before telling anyone.”

            Tormund rolled his eyes and gave him a crooked, reassuring smile.  “Then in that case, I’ll give her a Sprite instead of water.  You need the bubbles to really sell it as a drink.”

            Dany raised an eyebrow at him when he presented her with her drink, but grinned heartily when she took a sip.  “Thank you.”  Sansa narrowed her eyes at them, probably wondering when Dany started drinking something clear as opposed to her usual bourbon.  There was no way they were going to make it to twelve weeks without everyone they knew figuring this out.

            But he didn’t care about that right now.  All he cared about was Dany’s lips brushing his ear as she leaned in to whisper to him, “You’re the best man in the world.”

            They came home tired and ushered along the three tipsy girls.  Sansa careened into room five in a way that had Jon wondering how she’d made it up the stairs in one piece.  He fell asleep with one hand on Dany’s belly, her gorgeous head resting on his chest and the four dogs crammed onto the bed around them.  Drogon and Ghost had their heads together on the tangle of Jon and Dany’s feet and before long, Drogon was snoring.

Late that night, he and Dany woke up to her cellphone ringing on the nightstand.  The dogs sprang to attention and Ghost immediately bounded to the bedroom door to wait for them.  Dany turned on the lamp and answered the phone with a clear, wide-awake voice.  “Yeah?”  Her face crunched into a deep frown and she listened, then thought for a moment.  “I guess it would depend on the situation.  What can you tell me?”  More listening, but it took less time for her to consider her response.  “Yes, I’ll take him.  When will you be here?  I need to prep the other residents.  Okay.  See you then.”  She hung up and looked to Jon with an eyebrow raised.  “Jaime is bringing over a new resident.”

            “Did you say _him_?”

            Dany nodded and slid out of bed to dress.  “Yeah.  According to Jaime, he’s pretty battered up and behaves more like a kicked dog than a man.  I need to wake the girls and talk to them.”

            Jon nodded and let her go while he dressed less speedily and shook his head.  She definitely didn’t need this shit when she was pregnant and it would only get worse when she started getting nauseous and needing more sleep.

            When Jon made it downstairs, the four girls were sitting on the couch together, Drogon in his chair and the other dogs on the floor.  Upon his appearance, Irri gestured to him and said, “Come on.  Jon’s much more threatening than any survivor would be, male or not, and we let him live with us.  We’ll be fine.”

            Jon rolled his eyes dramatically and smiled at them.  “Yeah, I’m vicious.”

            “You know what I mean!”

            The doorbell rang and all the dogs started barking and scurrying across the room at once.  Ghost and Drogon tensed over who should lead the charge, but Rhaegal was at the door before they could settle it.  Dany got up and quieted the dogs, then slipped out onto the front porch.  It took a few minutes, but then she returned with Chief Lannister and a badly-bruised, shaking man.  Underneath the blackened eyes and the messy hair, Jon hardly recognized Theon Greyjoy, the guy who had been such a prick in high school.  Clearly someone had set out to knock him down a bit and, in the process, they’d all but destroyed him.  Theon was less nervous about the dogs than Gilly had been, which was a relief, and Ghost was a good influence on the pits by politely sitting to greet Theon.  Viserion and Rhaegal followed suit and sat patiently.  When the meeting with the dogs was taken care of, Irri and Missandei rose and crossed the living room to greet Theon.  Theon could barely look at them or Dany and certainly didn’t meet their gazes.  He was in far worse shape than Gilly had been, worse even than Missandei had been when Greyworm first brought her through the station on her way to the House with the Red Door.  Sansa approached him next, gently introducing herself as a former resident and the House’s attorney.  When the meeting with the girls went quiet, Jon followed them to the foyer and offered a hand to Theon.  Theon raised his eyes long enough to register that he had properly recognized him, then awkwardly shook his hand.  “Theon, this is Jon,” Dany said softly.  “I expect you remember him from high school.  Jon is my fiancé and a police officer here in Winterfell.  He helps us keep the House secure.”

            Dany went through her routine of leaving Theon in the kitchen to drink some hot chamomile tea with the girls and ice his swollen face while she, Jon, and Jaime went upstairs to talk and watch her prep room one for Theon.  “He’s pretty messed up, as you can see,” Jaime said stiffly.  “She managed to alienate all his friends and family, so he had nowhere to go.  This isn’t the first time this has happened, but in the past he’s always lied about the bruises to protect her.”

            “What’s her name?” Dany asked, that same edge in her voice that Jon remembered from when he’d brought Gilly to her.

            “Myranda Bolton,” Jaime said with a scowl.  “She’s a real piece of work.”

            Jon gritted his teeth at the name, memories coming back that dripped with poison.  “I remember her.  She was one of the worst bullies at Winterfell High.  I remember one girl who tried to commit suicide after the way Myranda treated her.”

            Jaime nodded grimly.  “I remember.  I responded to that call.  Hopefully the bitch finally gets what’s coming to her.  I had to work to convince Theon to press charges, though.  This one won’t be easy.”

            “They’re never easy,” Dany said, smoothing out the last wrinkle in the navy blue quilt.  She pulled an intake form out of her back pocket and unfolded it, presenting it to Jaime.  “You remember this.”

            Jaime nodded again, his face having gone weary and worried.  “I’ll give it to Jon tomorrow.  Take good care of the guy.  He’s going to need supervision if you know what I mean.”

            A dark cloud passed over Dany’s face and she nodded stiffly.  “We’ll take good care of him.”

            As Jaime descended the spiral staircase, Dany rushed to the bathroom and quietly gathered up the razors and cleaning products, shoving some of the bottles into Jon’s hands as she hurried up to the third floor.  Jon’s stomach turned and he followed her with bile in the back of his throat.  She collected the razors and chemicals from the third floor too and with Jon’s help, stashed them in the attic far from Theon’s reach.  Jon thought of the fleeting look in Theon’s eyes he’d gotten, the despair and the self-loathing there, and an overwhelming sadness came to him, combined with an overwhelming urge to kill Myranda Bolton.

            Dany didn’t sleep that night and he hardly even saw her.  She spent most of the night in room one, soothing a man with irreparable scars on the inside as well as the outside.

 

\------------------

 

            Theon wouldn’t speak to anyone but Dany for the first few days.  He could hardly bear to look up and show that he’d heard when someone addressed him and made no attempt to respond in any way.  Irri and Missandei kept trying, which was a good thing.  Dany and Jon gave him tentative space, checking in on him with a peripheral glance when he was in the living room watching tv, which was how he spent most of his time, or stealing glances at his plate when he picked at his food like a bird.  Jon knew what it looked like inside the man’s head, knew that maelstrom of darkness.  It was hard to trust someone enough to share it with them and it was hard to move past it enough to act normal.  Poor Theon was far enough gone that he was unable to do either right now.

            Any thoughts about getting Dany moved out of the House at any point in the next few weeks evaporated.  Theon presented an intensive case, one that would require Dany’s full attention, especially at night.  He noticed Dany occasionally encouraging Missandei to help with him, though, or off-handedly explaining how she did certain things.  At least she still planned to leave the House someday, if not someday soon.

            Viserion took a liking to the House’s newest resident.  On Saturday, Jon noticed Theon and Viserion sharing the couch and watching _House_ reruns.  By Sunday, when the channel switched to _The Mentalist_ , Viserion’s head was stretched across Theon’s lap and Theon was absent-mindedly petting Viserion’s forehead and stubs of ears.

            Maybe he’d get through this yet.

            His Saturday evening shift was mercifully bland and he and Dany slept in on Sunday.  Over waffles that morning, they talked quietly about plans for the week.  Jon tried to watch her make the waffles, but he must have missed whatever the secret ingredient was.  All he knew was that he’d have to find a way to return to his workout habits before Dany’s cooking started to affect him too dramatically. 

            “I was supposed to go to apartment showings with Irri today, and you and I talked about going to house showings, but now I don’t know if I should do either,” Dany said, biting her lip. 

Jon reached across the counter to brush her lip with his thumb and make her stop.  He hated seeing her nervous.  “Love, you have to be able to leave the house.  Missandei can keep an eye on things.  He’s just going to lose himself in the tv again.”

“You think so?”

He swallowed the tiny trickle of poison in his throat and his voice came out rougher than he’d intended.  “I know so.”

It took some work, but he convinced her to keep her plans with Irri for ten o’clock, come back for a late lunch, then go house hunting in the afternoon.  He kissed her hands before she left, his eyes on the bracelet she wore on her right wrist and the ring she wore on her left hand before he met her amethyst eyes and kissed her lips.

While she was gone, Jon took Ghost for a run to work off the waffles.  They trekked a new route that took them all the way to Godswood Park, through the winding paths, and then back home by another route.  The red leaves of the birch tree were still hanging on and Jon decided to keep running this route everyday at least until the last of those gorgeous leaves fell.

Back at the House, Jon knocked at the front door, inviting a chorus of howling barks, and was let in by Missandei, who rolled her eyes at the pits.  “You should ask her for a key.  She’s so scattered lately, I’m sure she meant to give you one.”

Jon pursed his lips awkwardly and shrugged.  “I don’t know that it’s my place.”

Missandei raised her eyebrows.  “Of course it is.  I’ll tell her to give you one.”

            “Thanks.”  He glanced to the left and noted Theon on the couch with Viserion, immersed in _The Mentalist._   Reassured and unnerved at the same time, Jon retreated upstairs to shower.

            When he came back downstairs, Missandei was prepping lunch in the kitchen and Theon and Viserion were in the same place he’d left them.  Jon entered the living room cautiously and leaned against Drogon’s chair to look at the tv, earning himself a grumble from the big black pitbull.  Theon twitched in his peripheral vision and Jon looked over at him.  He was now staring at his hands on Viserion, not the tv.  Jon crossed the room to him and slowly sat on the end of the couch, well out of Theon’s personal space.  “How are you doing?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.  Theon didn’t respond, so after a moment, Jon said, “I think the swelling is going down on your eyes.  Still looks like they hurt like hell, though.”  Still no response.  Jon nodded, unsurprised, and felt his chest tighten in that familiar way as bad memories came trickling back.  The last thing he wanted to do was breathe life into them by giving them voice, but Dany had obviously given Theon something to help him open up and if Jon wanted him to open up, he would have to do the same.  “I don’t know if you remember, but Robb and I joined the army after school.  The Starks gave us both Shepherds and we trained them to be army dogs.  I became a Ranger.  Hell of a lot of work, but gods I was proud of it.  Ghost and I went on two tours in Iraq.”  He took a shaky breath, but there was no going back.  He could feel Theon listening to him.  “Our second tour ended when we went on this mission that just went to hell.  I watched men I’d worked with for years die in front of me.  I took six stab wounds and Ghost took two bullets.  They tortured me before my guys could pull me out.  For a long time, it was hard to get that shit out of my head.  It still is sometimes.”  Theon’s eyes were on his dogtags, which he’d put on after his shower knowing that he needed to have this conversation with the other man.  “It got so bad I never slept.  Every time it rains I hear the water pouring over me as they waterboard me and I feel like I’m drowning.  I once held a gun to my head while my dog whined and cried trying to convince me to put it down and what finally made me put it down was the idea of my family being sad, not me wanting to live.”  Theon met his eyes, then.  He had grey eyes too, not unlike Jon’s, and they were watery with unshed tears.  Jon clenched his hands together and swallowed to regain his strength before finishing.  “But if I’d let that hell own me, if I’d pulled that trigger, I never would have found Dany.  I never would have found this place, or a new life as a cop.  And it makes me sick now to look back and think that I might have thrown those things away.”  Theon grimaced and hid his face in his hands.  Jon laid a hand on his shoulder, half-expecting him to flinch.  Theon didn’t flinch though, and Jon gripped his shoulder tightly as he began to quietly cry.  “I know you’re in hell right now, Theon.  And I’m sorry for that.  But now that you’re here you’re safe and you can start over.  You’re not weak or worthless.  You are strong enough to get through this and you are worth a great deal.  Your life might suck right now, but it’s not going to suck forever.  Someday, it’s going to be so precious and beautiful and you’ll be so glad you didn’t throw it away.  Okay?”  Theon nodded his head and Jon shifted closer to wrap his arm around Theon’s shoulders.  “I want you to come to me or Dany for anything.  _Anything._   We can help you and we will.  All you have to do is live.”

            Theon sniffed and leaned into Jon just barely.  “Thank you,” he whispered, his voice wet with tears.

            “Absolutely.”

 

\------------------

 

            Theon disappeared upstairs shortly after their talk and reemerged in time for lunch showered and wearing fresh clothes.  He still ate little and talked less, but his eyes took in everything like he was something more than a reanimated corpse and he made no move to hide his swollen face.  Dany noticed immediately and eyed Jon in curiosity.  Jon just shrugged and gave her the tiniest smile.  Her eyes turned molten and she mouthed the words _thank you_ to him.

            They went house-hunting then, having been wished luck by Irri, Missandei, and Sansa.  They had three showings booked and started with a house with a wraparound porch and a massive detached garage.  The garage started Jon’s brain on the toys Ned had kept in the barn, things like ATVs, the zero-turn mower, and his truck.  He had yet to live somewhere he could park his truck indoors.  Dany saw him salivating and rolled her eyes, tugging him onward into the house.  It had a small kitchen that Dany cringed at, but it had a fireplace in the living room that she fawned over and a big tub in the master bathroom that he could tell she wanted to curl up in and not come out for a few hours.  When they got back in the truck, Dany produced a sticky notepad and started taking notes.  “What are you writing?” he asked.

            “I’m writing down the things we like and don’t like.  Apparently you need a big garage, and I need a big kitchen and a tub.”

            Jon smirked.  “And we need a fireplace.”

            Dany smiled and added that to the list.

            The next house had a gorgeous kitchen, an average garage, a small porch, and no big tub or fireplace.  Dany took a few pictures of the kitchen on her phone and seemed very reluctant to leave it.

            The third house again had an average garage, but it had the wraparound porch, a gas fireplace in the living room, and an above-average kitchen with a small walk-in pantry.  It was a ranch too, which had Jon breathing a sigh of relief, and when they got to the master bathroom with its soft grey walls, white fixtures and accents, and gorgeous white spa tub, the muscles around Jon’s heart tightened.  As he watched Dany play around with the controls on the tub, he looked over the spec sheet the realtor had given them and did some quick math in his head.  If they could get the house at asking price, he had twenty percent to put down and plenty left over to get some furniture and curtains and whatnot for the place.  It wasn’t even very far from the House, about equidistant between it and the Starks’ home.

            They were driving away towards Winterfell and Jon was smirking, watching Dany bubble in his peripheral vision.  “So?  What did you think?” he asked nonchalantly.

            “Gods, it was amazing.  It was beautiful…and all that space for a garden and for the dogs…and that _tub_ …the kitchen was lovely, I wouldn’t have to worry about where to put a stand mixer or my big soup pot…what did you think?”

            Jon smirked and handed her the spec sheet without taking his eyes off the road.  “I think you’re happy, they’re eager to sell, and I have twenty percent to put down on it.”

            Dany was quiet for a moment and he snuck a glance at her to see her jaw dropped.  “Jon…are you sure?”

            “Gods, yes, I’m sure,” he said, grinning.  “It’s perfect, love.  We’ll call to put in the offer after the realtor’s had a few hours to get nervous about it.”

            Dany grabbed his right arm and hugged him hard, kissing him on the cheek as they both laughed and grinned. 

            It occurred to him that after having the last few hours to themselves and having spent that time dreaming and planning for a quiet life together just them, the last thing he wanted to do was go back to the House.  Instead, he took a detour, his mind running circles around him as he tried to focus on driving.  When they missed the first turn, Dany raised an eyebrow at Jon.  When he turned left instead of taking the right that would have brought them to the House the long way, Dany asked, “Where are we going?”

            “Well, it occurred to me that you haven’t been in my apartment yet.  I thought memories of you there might brighten it up a bit.”

            Dany’s eyes locked onto him and when he met her gaze, she wore a crooked grin.  He sighed in defeat.  “And, like our future home, my apartment doesn’t have anyone down the hall listening.  I don’t even care what the neighbors think.”

            Her hand slid over his thigh and down between his legs.  “You’re taking me there because you want to hear me scream?”

            Jon smirked.  “Guilty.”

            He parked out front and got Dany’s door for her, leading her up to number 206 with no small amount of blushing and smirking as they passed the kids from 103 and Mrs. Mordane from 212.  Once he had the door to 206 closed and locked behind them, though, her lips were on his and it was just him and Dany.  He hardly paid attention to the apartment around them as he kissed her back and grabbed her by the ass to carry her to the bedroom.  She laughed as he did it and he didn’t even worry about what she would think of the spartan lifestyle he’d held here.  It didn’t matter anymore.  All that mattered was in his arms.

            He fell with her onto the bed and drowned her in kisses, tasting her lips, her face, her gorgeous neck, the rise of hers breasts just visible above her collar.  She pushed on his chest enough to give them room to remove their shirts and for him to unclasp her bra for her, then his mouth was on her lovely tits, kissing and licking, and drawing them into his mouth.  She squirmed and whimpered under him, so he brushed his teeth along her nipple to make her cry out.  “Gods, Jon!”

            That outburst was enough t take him from horny to aching for her and a moment later, he was unbuttoning his jeans and shoving them off.  Dany scrambled under him to remove her own jeans and undergarments, hissing in frustration when she couldn’t reach to push them past her knees.  A spark of inspiration struck him and he knelt on her clothes as he leaned back over her and kissed her hard and fast.  She was already hot and wet when he slid his finger inside her, loving the way her muscles clenched around him and the way she whimpered.  He felt her fight with her jeans and then her nails were digging into his shoulders again as she found herself trapped.  He paused in his ministrations and kissed her slowly one more time before he said to her in a low voice he couldn’t control, “I want to hear you scream, love.”

            “Oh fuck, Jon…” Dany moaned, her eyes dark with lust and locked on his as he slid a second finger inside her and a third rubbed at her clit.  She threw her hands back on the pillow and her body arced against his like a bow.  He felt her ribs turn to iron as she gasped, and then her muscles seized and she did scream like she not only didn’t give a damn if the neighbors heard, she _wanted_ them to hear.  She was still coming when he took his shaking hands off of her and pushed his cock inside her, unable to resist her for a moment longer.  Gods, he loved the way she looked writhing under him.  Dany cried out again as he sheathed himself in her, her inner walls still clenching around him.  The feel of it brought him dangerously close to an orgasm, but he refused to give in before he’d made her scream like that again.  He still had her pinned down and when she fought him he helped her push her jeans and panties down the rest of the way and drew her knees up to her chest, opening her up to him.  Dany’s eyes slammed shut and her lips parted into an ‘O’ that made his cock twitch with pride and desire.  His blood was red-hot in his veins now, and he didn’t hold back, couldn’t hold back as she clung to him by her nails and moaned with each plunge of his cock.  He rammed into her again and again, so fucking deep it made him see stars, and then Dany gave a choked gasp and stiffened underneath him.  He gave her no reprieve and rode her faster and harder until she screamed hard enough that the whole apartment complex had to have heard and fuck he loved that sound and that he’d made her make that sound and the way she was clenching him down there and her nails in his skin and gods, he loved this woman….

            He lost all train of thought and only found it when he opened his eyes and noted Dany lying next to him with dark violet eyes and a crooked smile on her face.  “Hey, Jon.”

            He shook his head in disbelief at the memories and the physical feelings still coursing through him.  “Hey, Dany.”

            “I love you.”

            “I love you.”


	22. Reclaiming the Rain

            Jon dozed off and Dany lay in his arms just looking at him for a long time, this man who loved her so deeply, this man she was going to marry, this man who was the father of the baby inside her.  Some people looked far younger while they slept; Drogo had looked like an overgrown child in sleep and her pitbulls melted into puppies.  Not Jon, though.  Letting down his guard in sleep only made poor Jon more grim, his jaw and lips tight, wrinkles appearing in his forehead and at the corners of his eyes, scars that she rarely noticed now so obvious.  There was a cut over his right eye that she’d never noticed before but could not look away from now and the scars of his chest seemed that much more raw and angry now when he was lying so still.  Where some people would roll over or adjust the covers in their sleep, when Jon stirred, his muscles seized and his rough hands clenched into fists, but he didn’t move.  It was as if he was preparing to endure pain.

            It made her heart ache.

            She slipped out of his arms and found his t-shirt on the end of the bed.  She pulled it on over her tousled braids and began to wander.  His bedroom was bare but for a small nightstand beside the bed with a lamp on it, a locked gun cabinet, and the open closet door that showcased a few hanging button-downs and two shelves of precisely folded shirts and pants.  Two pairs of shoes waited on the floor beneath them, dress shoes and sandals.  His running shoes were on the floor near the bed, cast off in their haste to couple.  No pictures, no decorations, not even a laundry basket or a mirror.  The bathroom was bare too, with a plain black shower curtain and not even bathroom rugs.  The living room housed a small tv, a cheap desk with a laptop on it, an abused white couch covered in Ghost’s hair.  There was a little table with two chairs at it in the kitchen and only a coffee maker and a knife block on the counter.  She thought of throwing out the perishables that must have gone bad while he was staying with her, but the fridge contained only a handful of condiments, a jug of V8, a still-sealed box of lunchmeat, and an eighteen-rack of eggs that was nearly empty.  Half the kitchen cupboards were empty with only a set of four plates and bowls and flatware.  The sink was empty and spotless.  There were no pictures or decorations of any kind here either.  She paused in the dining area, looking around at the spare living quarters, and thought of the few times Jon had referenced his home.  She remembered his use of the words “spartan” and “bare” and he was right.  It was the home of someone who could leave any minute at no notice.  It was the home of someone who gotten unused to material possessions.  Maybe, it was the home of someone who didn’t want his loved ones to go to much trouble if he left town suddenly or was killed.  That last thought made her instantly curl up in nausea and she dismissed it at once.

            Light footsteps followed her from the bedroom and Jon stepped into the room to wrap his arms around her and kiss her forehead.  He was wearing only his jeans and warmth leapt from his bare chest to her body right through the t-shirt between them.  “Whatcha doing, love?” he murmured drowsily.

            “Snooping,” she said, shutting her eyes and letting the warmth of his embrace seep into her and soothe her.  “There isn’t much to snoop.”

            Jon snorted and kissed her hair.  “No, there’s not.  Do you see how much work you’re going to have to do to fill up that big house?”

            “Can we call the realtor now?”

            He smiled.  “Sure, love.”

            They did call and Jon made his offer to the realtor, asking price with twenty percent down and no contingencies.  The realtor promised to contact the owners immediately and see what he could do.  They dressed and drove back to the House quietly, Dany all the time praying that the realtor would call back.  She couldn’t stop thinking about the house, about that gorgeous porch, that big yard, that kitchen with the big pantry, the fireplace, the tub in the master bathroom.  It was so beautiful and so perfect and she wanted it so badly. 

            She made dinner in a state of distraction and anxiety, only half listening as Irri regaled their apartment hunting with great enthusiasm and pestered Jon for details about the house hunting.  Theon was actively listening to the conversation, all the time rubbing Viserion’s head in his lap.  Dany wondered again what Jon had done to thaw out the injured man.  Whatever it was, it had made a serious impression.

            Dany hardly ate and was feeling ready to crawl out of her skin with nerves by the time they were doing dishes and Jon’s phone rang.  Jon stiffened immediately and picked up the call.  When the caller identified themselves, Jon locked gazes with her, his steel-grey eyes wide.  “What did they say?”

            Dany wrung her hands for what felt like years, then watched as a grin broke across Jon’s face that was so wide his eyes crinkled.  Her heart was in her throat.  “That’s great!  What time tomorrow?  We’ll be there.”  He hung up, still grinning, and said, “They accepted the offer.  We have an appointment tomorrow to start the paperwork.”

            Cheers erupted and Dany grabbed Jon around the neck and kissed him hard, their mouths molding together, her hands in his black curls, his digging into her back.  When they broke apart, Jon was still grinning, though she could barely see it through the tears in her eyes.

 

\------------------

 

            The next morning, Jon kissed her good-bye and when she left the bed later, having reveled in the smell of sex and of Jon in their sheets for a little longer, she found a pot of tea waiting for her in the kitchen.  She made blueberry lemon scones and watched the pits play in the yard from her seat on the deck, wrapped in her soft robe.  Missandei was the first down for breakfast, freshly showered and wearing a blue flowing blouse that looked lovely in contrast to her caramel skin.  She snatched a scone and all but inhaled it, then turned her attention to washing the cookie sheet in the sink.  “I don’t know where you find the energy for all of this,” she said.  “How do you plan to do this kind of stuff when you have a house of your own?”

            Dany smiled and flipped the pancakes, then looked to Missandei.  “Well, I’ll still be around here all the time, I just won’t live here.”

            “But what about intakes?  Who’s going to come down the stairs with a gun in hand?” Missandei asked, partly joking and partly nervous, Dany thought.  She had a right to be nervous.  Dany was nervous too.

            She sighed and flipped the pancakes onto plates.  “I don’t know.  Jon’s already talking about extra security measures we can give the house and asking the Winterfell PD to add this street to their regular rounds.  I was actually thinking…maybe…”  The words caught in her throat and Missandei looked to her with a creased brow.  “Well, I thought maybe you would be interested in being my partner.”

            Missandei’s eyebrows shot up and she stood stock-still for a minute.  “Me?  But…I don’t know…you really think I could?”

            Dany shrugged, thinking of the way Missandei talked to Theon and to Gilly, the way she’d come alive since Craznys went to lockup and then was convicted.  “I’m not moving tomorrow, you’d have plenty of time to get comfortable and learn the ropes, but yes, I think you could.  You’re a lot tougher than you give yourself credit for, M, and you’ve been so good with Theon and Gilly.”

            “I just…” Missandei hesitated.  “You’re so strong and confident.  I don’t know if I could ever be like that.”

            “Of course you could!” Dany exclaimed, frowning at M’s sudden self-consciousness.  “It takes practice and a bit of believing in yourself, but after a few months of work, I’m sure you’ll be as confident as me.  I’m not asking for a commitment, M.  You can think about it and if you don’t want to I can figure something else out.  But I think you’d be great for it.”

            Missandei smiled tightly and blushed.

            It was perhaps mid-morning that Dany was giving the windows one last wash before the weather got too cold.  She had gotten as far as the living room and was half-listening to the tv show Theon was drowning in when the doorbell rang, sending the pits in a thrashing, barking mob to the door.  Dany abandoned the windows and took a few minutes calming the dogs before punching in the security code and sneaking out onto the porch.  When she got there, she blinked in surprise at the figure standing there stiffly, his pale eyes staring her down, peering right through her.  A chill whispered along her nerve-endings.  “Mr. Bolton.  What can I do for you?”

            Roose Bolton wasn’t all that much taller than her, but he managed to look down his long nose at her all the same.  “Ms. Targaryen,” he said in his cool, quiet voice.  The last time she had seen the vampire-like coal tycoon had been at Ramsey’s sentencing.  Roose had stared across the room stonily at her and Sansa while his only son was led away in handcuffs and while his daughter, Myranda, shrieked.  “I understand you are harboring my daughter’s boyfriend here.”

            The word _boyfriend_ sounded bizarre on his silver tongue.  It was all she could do not to cringe and to fold her arms across her chest rather than shoving him back away from her front door.  “Yes.  Your daughter blackened him with bruises.”

            “I will not lose another child to your would-be crusade,” Roose said, his voice paper-dry.  “I am here to ask you to drop the charges against Myranda.”

            Her muscles tightened like guitar strings and she gritted her teeth to hold back a vicious response.  Roose Bolton had a lot of money and a lot of friends in high places.  She had already shattered his family once and he no doubt considered her an enemy as a result.  It would not do to push him.  “I’m sorry, Mr. Bolton, but it seems your children had similar ideas about how to treat people who loved them.  I don’t regret helping put your son in prison and I don’t regret helping Theon charge your daughter with domestic violence too.”

            Roose Bolton’s jaw worked, but his voice was no less cool and quiet when he spoke.  “I see.  You should know, Ms. Targaryen, that I have no intention of watching you destroy my daughter’s life.  If you remain on this course, there will be consequences.”

            Dany blinked, her throat going dry and her knees wobbling.  She wished she had her gun so she could show Bolton what a real threat looked like.  “Is that a threat?”

            Bolton tipped his head to one side just slightly.  “It is a suggestion that you not take any rash actions.  I would hate for you and your House to experience any…difficulties as a result.  Enjoy the day.  I expect it will rain tonight.”  With nothing more, he turned and walked down the sidewalk to his Jaguar.

            Her hands were shaking as she hurried back into the house before she ‘took any rash actions.’  The dogs watched her anxiously and followed her as she returned to the living room and began furiously scrubbing at the window she’d left off on. 

            “That was…Mr. Bolton,” Theon said in that quivering whisper,

            Dany nodded, not looking away from her work.  “Yep.  His ass is in for a rude awakening.”

            “B-but…he has power…he could…”

            “He could make it hard for me to keep my licensing, he could try to bribe Chief Lannister or the judge, he could hire the best lawyer in Westeros,” she said bitterly, the words tasting like venom on her tongue.  “It doesn’t matter.  He’ll regret teaching his children to hurt people.”

 

\------------------

 

            Bolton was right about one thing, at least.  It did rain that evening.  It started at around five o’clock and only built as the night wore on.  Jon had been his usual self, evener happier and more care-free than normal, as they left the realtor’s office, their formal offer for the house accepted.  When the clouds darkened, though, he became quiet and melancholy, and when the skies opened up, she could scarcely win his attention for a moment.  He didn’t eat, he didn’t make conversation, and he didn’t come to bed with her and the dogs.

            She struggled to sleep and was almost relieved when Ghost woke her from a half-doze with a wet nose to her hand.  Her eyes opened, instantly awake, and her blood began to race the way it did when she woke up for intakes.  She got out of bed and followed Ghost down the spiral stairwell, her arms around her to help her thin nightgown fight the chill.

            Ghost waited at the patio door sitting at attention as he peered out into the rain.  She’d finally given Jon a key and the security code this afternoon and he’d put them to use, letting himself out in the dead of night to stand in the rain.  He was wearing pajama pants, she’d gotten him that close to agreeing to go to bed, but he was otherwise naked, and the rain ran in rivulets through his hair and down his broad shoulders and smooth back.  His hands were fisted at his sides and rain dripped from his hands to the deck they’d built together.  Every muscle was fraught with pain.

            Dany put in the security code and stepped out onto the deck, leaving Ghost behind.  The rain was cool on her skin and hair, but not cold enough to chill her.  The water pattered on her face and ran down her cheeks and for just a moment, she could feel his panic in the marrow of her bones.  Her eyelashes fluttered, jarred by the rain.  He either didn’t hear her exit the house or was too consumed by his thoughts to react.  She stepped forward and put her hands on his hips, turning him with little resistance so his back was to the deck rail and his dark eyes were on hers.  “Why do you torture yourself like this?” she asked softly.  “Let’s go inside.  The rain is cold.”

            “I’ve had worse,” Jon said, his voice gruff with darkness.

            Her hair was now as matted down by rain as his and the nightdress she wore clung to her body, dripping wet.  She’d be damned if she left him out here, though.  “Jon.  You can’t let this control you forever.  You can’t let this eat you up.”

            “It’s all I can think about,” he said roughly, breaking her gaze to look down at the scars on his chest.  “It’s alive inside me.  Like a parasite.”

            _All I can think about._   She thought about that rainy week when she’d played music to drown out the rain and fucked him to sleep.  Inspiration struck her and Dany cupped his face in her hand and lifted it to make him look her in the eye again.  “What if you had something else to think about?” she said in that bedroom voice he loved.

            Jon frowned deeply and seemed to really see her for the first time.  “Love, you should be inside.  You’re soaking wet.”

            “Yes.”  She reached out and took his hand, slipping it down between her legs to feel her wetness, brought on by a quick imagination and the way he looked with the rain running over his hair and skin.  “I am.”

            Jon’s eyebrows shot up.  “Love….”  She didn’t give him a chance to argue, though, instead trapping his lips in a desperate kiss that tasted like rain.  He opened his mouth to her more willingly than she’d expected and she drew out his tongue to tangle with hers, tasted him as he slid his fingers inside her.  A jolt ran up her spine and she gripped his hand tight, kissing him harder and faster.  When he curled his fingers inside her, she stumbled and somehow ended up straddling Jon’s lap as he sat on the deck with his back to the rail, his hands still on her and his mouth still on hers.  Gods, she loved kissing him.  He knew how to kiss like it was a conversation, how to vary the pace, the depth, the breath to bring her to the edge and pull her back.  He knew how to lose himself in her and make her lose herself in him until they were drunk on each other.  She dug her fingers into his shoulders and smiled when he winced at the pressure on the wounds she’d inflicted at his apartment.  Jon chuckled and kissed her harder, drawing her lip into his mouth and lightly nipping it so she squirmed.  Gods, she wanted him.  The idea had come to her as a way to distract him and give him something new to associate with the rain, but now she wanted him so badly that all higher-level thinking had been snuffed out.  She reached down between them to draw his gorgeous cock out of his soaked pajama bottoms and stroke it tenderly, loving the feel of its silky length in her hands.  Jon stiffened and she sucked long and hard on his lower lip as she gently squeezed him in her hands.  Their lips brushed as she said to him, “I want to fuck you until all you can think about when it rains is me.”

            “I love you,” Jon murmured, resuming the kiss with desperation, like he was drowning and only she could save him.  He slid his hands up under her nightdress and squeezed her hips, drawing them down to meet his.  She guided his cock inside her and her lips stilled on his in ecstasy as he slowly pushed apart her walls, rising up inside her so her whole body quivered with the need to have him deeper.  She pressed herself down on him, her nails digging into his shoulders as his dug into her hips.  She took him as deep as she could, then backed off and drilled him into her forcefully, wanting to feel him hit her back wall, wanting him to fill her completely.  Jon moaned and his muscles flexed around her, his hands shifting to dig into her ass and pull her tighter against him.  She rolled her hips as she backed off him, then rolled them back the other way as she sheathed him, her breath coming hard and fast at being able to feel herself all around him.  Jon followed her rhythm, coaxing her on with his hands on her hips as she undulated on him.  She lost herself in the euphoria and tipped her head back to let the rain wash over her face and back through her hair and when she looked to Jon again, his eyes were only for her, his pupils wide and dark and utterly focused on her.  There was no such thing as Iraq.  If such a place existed, he’d never been there.  All he was was here with her, their bodies joined under a whispering rain that cloaked them from the world.

            They came together, him with growls and moans, her with whimpers and cries.  Rapture rippled through her muscles, turning them warm and watery as she slumped, her arms draped over his shoulders all that kept her upright.  Jon chuckled softly and kissed her cheek, whispering, “You win, love.  I’ll never forget the way you look fucking me in the rain.”

            A slow grin spread across Dany’s face and she found the energy to lift her head and give him a drowsy kiss.  “I love you, Jon.”

            He followed her inside then and they shed their wet clothes in the bathroom, toweled each other dry, and slipped back into bed, warming each other with touch.  Jon seemed to have completely forgotten the sound of the rain and after a few minutes more of touching and kissing, he slipped into a quiet sleep beside her.


	23. Night Terrors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So I was on my dashboard and realized that I haven't updated this fic in four months and that's so damn depressing. I miss it and I've been getting comments from you lovely folks who have been missing it. I'm still horribly anxious about writing the baby stuff and am blocked on that...it's a bit of a sore spot for me...so if you want pregnancy details give me some input in the comments! Also, please note that this chapter carries a trigger warning due to a rather nasty nightmare Dany has. If you want to avoid the trigger, skip the nightmare, which is in italics. I apologize that this is a short chapter, but I wanted to get something up while I'm picking at the next scene, which will be Dany's first prenatal appointment. Hope you like it!

            About the time Dany managed to chase off the worst of Jon’s nightmares, hers started to get worse.  The colors were brighter, the voices and sounds echoed in her head, and the faces distorted the longer she looked at them, Viserys’s grin stretching wide like a Cheshire cat, wide enough to look like his face was splitting in half.  She’d had awful nightmares when she was pregnant with Rhaego too and silently prayed that they would not be so bad this time around.  As she drifted off to sleep the night before her first appointment with Margaery as a pregnant woman, though, she fell asleep with her mind spinning about the baby’s health and safety and about her own health and fears.  Then the nightmare came.

            _She runs along a narrow, winding path between trees and lifeless bushes, their branches long claws stretching out to tear at her nightgown.  She can hear a heartbeat pounding in her head and, despite the palpitations in her chest and the tightness in her throat, she knows that what she is hearing is not her own heart.  Her right hand goes to her abdomen, cradling the tiniest start of a bump, her baby, Jon’s baby, smaller than a walnut inside of her.  The heartbeat pulses against her palm._

_She doesn’t stop running, but her distraction causes her to stumble and the hem of her nightgown to catch in the brambles.  She tugs free and runs faster.  She needs to get to the birch tree with the red leaves.  There, Jon will find her.  There, she and their baby will be safe._

_Laughter.  Cruel, ringing laughter like a hyena, Viserys’s voice echoing like waves along the wind chasing her._

No.  He can’t have me.  He can’t have the baby.

_The tree branches clutch at her and her nightgown tears, ripping open slits below her left breast, along her ribcage, at her right hip.  She cries out in frustration and fear and tears herself free, running on as the tattered dress begins to slip from her shoulders._

_Claws catch her shoulders and she screams in absolute horror as they dig into her flesh, drawing blood.  The heart is still beating in her head and the thought of those claws piercing her abdomen, scratching their way to her baby, makes her fight in desperation to free herself.  The creature falls upon her, sending her stumbling to her hands and knees on the hard ground.  She crawls across the earth and the claws catch her ankles, then sink into her calves, her thighs, seizing her.  The claws rip at her tattered nightgown, shredding it around her, then climb up her body, slicing through the flesh of her buttocks, her back, her shoulders._

_“Sssssweet sister,” Viserys whispers in her ear, his claws tangling in her hair and wrenching her head back by it, ripping strands loose.  She cries out in pain as he bites at her neck hard enough that she feels blood beading on her skin.  The heart beats louder and faster._

_The muzzle of a gun presses into her side, pointed into her abdomen, at her baby.  “You are mine, sweet sister…”_

_She screams and digs her fingers into the earth in her fight to crawl out from under him, but he yanks on her hair, his legs pinning hers, just the way he likes her.  The gun leaves her side for a moment, and then she feels cold metal between her legs and writhes in terror, fighting with very inch of her being to get him off of her, to get away from that gun.  The hard edges of the gun scrape at her opening and she is screaming so hard her throat burns as she scrambles to no avail, as he drives the barrel of the gun up inside her and whispers, his lips brushing her ear and making her shudder with nausea, “Just imagine what would happen if I pulled the trigger, sweet sister.  Imagine how you’d split apart, how his bastard baby would be nothing but flesh and blood dripping out of what’s left of you.”_

_There is a mechanical_ click _as he takes the safety off._

            Dany awoke gasping, tears already running down her face as she shuddered convulsively.  Her eyes opened wide to find Viserion sitting upright in bed, watching her with concern.  She shot up and clutched the white pitbull to her, sobbing as he pressed his head, stumpy ears and all, into her chest.  Jon groaned and rolled over, stiffening when his hand found her sitting upright and shaking.  She couldn’t stop shaking.  “Dany?” he croaked sleepily.  Within a moment’s breath, he realized that she was crying and shot up faster than she had, wrapping his arms around her from behind and kissing her bare shoulder.  “Love…Daenerys…it’s okay, love.  You’re okay.  You’re safe here with me and the dogs.  Everything’s okay.”

            She couldn’t find words, but she loosened one hand from Viserion and clenched Jon’s hand in it.  He squeezed back and didn’t flinch as she crushed his bones, just whispered over and over, “You’re okay, love.  I’ve got you.  You’re okay.”

            The words finally came and they wrenched themselves from her lips in little shards.  “I haven’t had a n-n-nightmare that bad s-s-since R-rhaego.  I had horrible nightmares when I was pregnant then.”

            “Shh…” Jon murmured.  He’d begun rocking her just barely back and forth and now kissed her hair.  “Shh, love.  We’ll figure it out.  We’ll ask Margaery if there’s something we can do so you sleep better.  Maybe some special tea or something.”  She nodded and he kissed her hair again, his free hand gently stroking her right arm.  “Do you want to talk about it?”

            She shook her head ‘no.’  She could still feel the cold barrel of that gun inside her, could still hear their baby’s heart beating so loud in her head.  She shuddered and Jon tightened his grip on her.  “You’re okay, love,” he said, softer even than his last soothing words.  “He’s dead and our baby is going to be fine.  We’ll see Margaery tomorrow, and she’ll tell us just how fine our baby is, and that sick fuck Viserys is far from this world now, far from you.  It’s just you and me and our dogs and our baby.”  She nodded stiffly and Jon kissed her shoulder.  “How about a hot bath, love?  Wash the nightmare away?  I bet you’ll sleep so much better afterward.”

            A hot bath.  Gods, that sounded nice, all that scalding hot water to burn away the claw marks on her skin, the steam to cleanse her insides and her mind.  She nodded again and Jon began to slowly disentangle himself, then scooped her up out of bed like a small child.  He held her as the hot water filled the tub and he helped her sink down into the vanilla and cardamom scented water.  Then, he knelt at the edge of the tub and kissed her over and over while he softly washed her arms, her legs, her chest and abdomen, her back.  Then, he braided her loose hair into one strong plait running down her back and tied it, ever so gently brushing his fingers down from her crown and along the braid.  “I love you,” he whispered to her.

            “I love you, Jon,” she whispered back, her voice hoarse with tears that had finally stopped falling.  She lifted her hand from the water and he took it, kissing her fingertips one by one.

            When the water began to cool, Jon helped her out of the tub, toweled her dry and led her back to the bed, easing her down under the covers nude.  As she watched in the dim light, he stripped off his pajamas and crawled into bed after her.  Drogon picked up his head from where he was curled up in a pile on the rug with the other dogs, but after a moment of squinting at them, he settled back in.  Jon wrapped his arms around Dany, his skin hot to the touch from the steam in the bathroom, and she curled into him, her face pressed into his chest, her legs tangled up in his.  He stroked her back slow and gentle over and over until her breath came less shakily to her lungs.  After several warm, soothing minutes like that, Jon kissed the top of her head and began to hum a tune, soft and simple.  She had never heard him sing or hum before and the sound was like soft down breathed into her mind, deep and gentle and roughened by his Northern accent in a way that curled into her organs and soothed them.  She breathed a long sigh and Jon kissed her temple.  “Don’t stop,” she whispered.  He kissed her again, then started over with the song.  By the time he’d finished, the nightmare was nearly gone from her.  She kissed his collarbone and whispered to him, “What was that?”

            “It was a lullaby Catelyn used to sing for us,” Jon answered, his nose nuzzling at the crown of her head.  She thought he might be smelling the bath oils on her.  “I used to have awful nightmares when I was little, just awful.  Robb got nightmares every now and then too, and Bran.  When they happened, she would hold us in the rocking chair and sing that to us.”

            “It’s beautiful.  What are the words?”

            Jon snorted softly and said, “I’m an awful singer.”

            She smiled.  “I doubt that.”

            “Nonetheless, I can hum it, but I’d rather not sing it.”

            She kissed the top edge of the scar over his heart.  He softened at the touch and kissed her hair again.  “Another time then,” she said, her voice having gone soft and low.  She felt warm and lazy, her muscles watery, and she moved her hands slowly over his back, taking in the heat and the softness of his smooth skin.  Jon kissed her temple, then the top of her ear, his hands moving in nearly the same way hers did, stroking down her spine, up her ribs, down her side less than an inch from her breast, along her waist.  She slipped one leg free and bent it up over his hip, pressing her center to him and feeling the way he twitched and then warmed against her. 

Jon cupped her cheek with his palm and gently bent her head up to kiss her.  His kiss was soft and lazy, drowsy with warmth and with sleep.  His tongue danced with hers slowly, teasing at her lips.  She moaned and arched her back, pressing her body to his, his firm chest warm on her breast, his cock hot against her and hardening.  Jon cradled her jaw and the back of her head in his hand, his thumb brushing her cheek in a way that made her throat choke up.  Sometimes he did things like that, things he didn’t even think about, that made her feel so loved it made her heart bleed in the places where she had been broken.  Shards of warm light filled the spaces Viserys had ripped out of her, the spaces left where she had once kept Drogo and Rhaego. 

He kissed her deeper, taking her mouth slow and deep, the way she realized she needed him to take her elsewhere.  She sighed and rocked her hips against him, just enough to let him feel the way she wanted him.  A moment later, his hand found her hip and gently pulled her up against him.  She felt his cock strain at her entrance and she pried her heavy eyelids open to meet his dark, molten gaze, his pupils blown wide, his grey eyes fixed on her, only her.  Then, he pressed her close and pushed inside her, his lips parting in the same moment hers did, a sigh floating between them before her eyes fell shut again and his lips found hers, his kiss enveloping her as they moved together in a lazy rhythm.

When she came, it was with soft, shuddering gasps as he held her tight to him, clutching her to him and holding her there, deep inside her.  She could feel every inch of him as she came, her muscles pulsing as she gasped and panted.  Jon kissed the corner of her mouth as her lips locked apart and she felt his fingertips dig into her waist as he groaned softly and came with her. 

Afterward, they lay tangled up together, still connected, and Dany whispered to him, “How do we come together like that so often?”

Jon chuckled and kissed her cheek.  “Because you’re so fucking beautiful when you come.  I lose it when I see you like that.”

A warm blush rose in her cheeks and she smiled, then kissed him until they dozed off and slipped into a dreamless sleep.


	24. The First Appointment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I have missed you all dearly and I know this chapter has been long-awaited. I hope it makes up for the time it took me to get over my blocks and write it. I'm hoping to start updating this more regularly again. In the meantime, enjoy. <3

Sitting in the lobby at Women’s Care of Winterfell, Dany watched Jon pace back and forth, unable to pay attention to the home decorating show playing quietly on the tv or the society magazines on the coffee table.  Her fingers turned the paper cup of tea slowly in her hands, the warmth seeping through into her palms.  “It’s going to be fine, Jon,” she said.

He stopped immediately and met her eyes, returning to her to lay a hand on her knee.  “Of course, it will, love.  Of course.”

The door opened beside the reception desk and a nurse called to her, “Daenerys?”

Her stomach cramped uncomfortably, but she stood and took the hand Jon offered as she followed the nurse through the door.  The nurse weighed her, noting no significant change since her last visit, then walked them to the same treatment room she’d been in last time.  Sitting on the table in there with Jon hovering beside her was every bit as nerve-wracking as it was the last time but different somehow.  Like she had more to gain and more to lose by being here.  She’d been told to get ready for a physical exam, so she was sitting there in a hospital gown and her socks with a blanket across her lap, wringing her hands and trying to pretend she wasn’t cold.

Luckily, she didn’t have to wait long.  In a few minutes, there was a knock at the door and Margaery came in grinning.  “Dany!  Congratulations!” she cried, giving Dany a huge hug.  Dany couldn’t help smiling as she returned the embrace and thanked Margaery.  As she sat on her stool and logged into her computer, Margaery’s green eyes sparkled.  “When did you find out?”

“Early last week.”

“That’s great!  You must be so excited.”

“Excited,” she agreed with a tight smile.  “And anxious.”

“Oh, darling,” Margaery said soothingly.  “Everything’s going to go great.  Jon and I will take good care of you.  Let’s start with the exam, pap, and ultrasound.  Then we’ll do some labwork and talk.  Deal?”

“Okay.”

Jon held her hand throughout the ordeal.  There was nothing to see on the ultrasound yet, but Margaery smiled and said everything was right as rain and that they’d be able to see the baby in a few weeks.  Half an hour later, she’d given blood and urine and was back in the exam room dressed and warm again with Jon’s arm around her as Margaery told her what to expect in the first few weeks.  Dany made a mental note to dust off the pregnancy books she’d read through when she’d been pregnant with Rhaego and maybe get a new one.  It seemed there were a few things that were new information to her.

“She’s been having awful nightmares.  Is there some kind of tea or something she can take to help with that?” Jon asked.

Margaery nodded.  “I’m glad you asked that.  Stay away from caffeine for sure.  What kind of tea do you normally drink, Dany?”

“English Breakfast or chai.  Sometimes chamomile.”

“Decaf breakfast or decaf chai are fine, but I would try switching from any herbal tea to a rooibos to be on the safe side.  Some herbal teas are risky.  Pukka makes a pregnancy tea that’s lovely.  I know the Festival here in Winterfell carries it.”

Dany smiled softly.  “I’ll pick some up.”

“You should also try some yoga or meditation.  Once or twice a day can be good, maybe to start the day and to end it.  That will help clear your head and lower your stress level.  Stress can be brutal on your sleep patterns.”

Jon took Dany’s hand, tracing her fingers.  “A nice hot bath before bed might help too, love.”

“Be careful there,” Margaery said gently.  “You don’t want your body temperature rising too high or you could cause trouble with the baby.  Warm baths are fine, just be careful about too high of temperatures.”

Dany’s brow creased in worry.  She’d just taken a very long, very hot bath last night to kick that nightmare.  Should she not have?  Margaery caught the look on her face and took her free hand.  “Don’t worry, Dany.  Everything’s fine right now, I just did the ultrasound.  Just take care going forward and everything will be fine.  I don’t want you worrying so much you make yourself unwell…that’s not going to help things either.”

“We’ve got this, love,” Jon said, squeezing her hand.

Dany nodded stiffly and forced a smile.  “What else should I know?”

“Well, you’re already on a prenatal, you’re already eating well and cutting out caffeine and alcohol.  The yoga will be good for keeping your body strong and healthy.  It wouldn’t hurt to do some walking too to keep your heart healthy.”  Margaery smiled playfully.  “Maybe you can walk those dogs of yours.  I bet they’d like that.”

“Oh gods,” Dany said with a chuckle.  “They would.  My shoulder might not.”

Jon chuckled too.  “They’ve been getting better.  You can walk Ghost and I’ll walk the pits.”

“Okay.”

Margaery was still smiling as she squeezed Dany’s hand and released it.  “Your due date is May 19th.  We’ll get you scheduled to see me again in about ten weeks for the ultrasound, but you can always give me a call in the meantime if you have any questions or concerns.  We’ll call you with the lab results as soon as they’re in.  Do you have any other questions?”

Dany looked to Jon, who smiled encouragingly.  “Not right now.”

“Good.”  Margaery stood and gave Dany a kiss on the temple.  “Relax.  Be happy!  You’re a mom, Daenerys, and you’ll be wonderful.”

“Thank you, Margaery.”

 

\------------------

 

            They stopped at the grocery store on the way home to get the tea and to stock up on other essentials.  Dany made a point to add some extra ingredients to the cart that she knew from Rhaego were supposed to be good for pregnancy.  When they checked out, Jon whipped out his credit card before she made it to the terminal and he insisted on carrying all of the grocery bags too, making her blush.

            When they got back to the House, a little black car was parked out front.  Dany frowned in concern, but when they entered, they found Missandei, Irri, Theon, and the dogs at the dining table sipping tea with an old man in black.  At their entrance, the group looked to them.  Missandei stood nervously and said, “Dany, this is Brother Aemon.  He’s a monk from King’s Landing…he says he’s your great-uncle.”

            Dany locked eyes with Brother Aemon, who stood on shaking limbs to face her shyly.  He had lavender eyes not unlike hers set deep in his lined face, those she recognized straight off.  She stood there in shock while Jon set down the groceries and returned to take her hand.  “Daenerys,” Brother Aemon said in a quivering voice.  “It is a pleasure to meet you at last.”

            After a moment in which Dany didn’t really know what to think, she extended a hand and Brother Aemon shook it.  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.  What brings you to Winterfell?”

            “Initially, your brother’s death,” Aemon said, sinking back into his chair.  “I was listed as his next of kin, you see.  He had found me when he was working in King’s Landing and I met with him several times there.  A troubled lad.”

            “He was,” she said softly, easing into the chair next to him, entranced by this apparition.  Her father had managed to estrange them from their family through his drinking and madness, so she had grown up isolated from them and never expecting to so much as meet them.  But here was a member of her family, her great-uncle with her blood in his veins. 

            Aemon smiled tightly.  “I presided over his funeral this morning.  When I heard you were here in Winterfell too, though, I thought I must come to see you.  I hope I haven’t intruded.”

            “Not at all,” Dany said quickly.  In her peripheral vision, she realized that Irri had poured her a cup of tea, but she ignored it.  “It’s a pleasure to meet you.  I’ve met so few of my family.  Our family.”

            “And sadly, there are so few of us left,” Aemon said wearily.  “But, I understand you are starting a family of your own.”  His violet eyes flickered to the ring on her left hand and she couldn’t help smiling.

            “Yes.  This is my fiancé, Jon Snow.”

            “Nice to meet you, sir,” Jon said, shaking Aemon’s hand.

            “Sir?”  Aemon chuckled warmly.  “Such nice manners.  I like this boy.”

            They talked the afternoon away with Brother Aemon, getting to know each other, discussing the past and the future.  When the second pot of tea ran dry and Aemon got up to take his leave, Dany rose and hugged him.  “Promise you’ll visit again?  Or maybe I could visit you in King’s Landing?”

            “That would be lovely, my child,” Aemon said, offering her a card from his jacket pocket.  “Here is my contact information at the monastery.  I’d be honored to host you and Jon too sometime.”

            Dany took the card and hugged him again, her great-uncle, then, on impulse, asked, “Uncle Aemon?  Could I ask a favor of you?”

            “Of course, my dear.”

            Dany released him and took Jon’s hand, looking to him for reassurance before she spoke.  They had talked little about the details for the wedding yet and she hoped she wasn’t out of line here.  But, it was important to her to have her one family member involved, she realized, so she looked back to Brother Aemon and asked, “Would you officiate our wedding?”

            The old man’s lavender eyes sparkled and he grinned, taking her hand in both of his.  “I would be so deeply honored, my child.  Come visit me in a few weeks and we’ll get the ceremony all planned and settled.”

            “Thank you.”  She embraced Aemon once more and he held onto her, stroking her silver-blond hair only a shade brighter than his white hair.  “It truly means the world to me.”

            Aemon laughed softly and when Dany pulled away, there were tears in his eyes.  “Daenerys, my dear, it means the world to me.  Thank _you_.”

 

\------------------

 

            That night, as Dany and Jon lay in bed with the dogs all around them, Jon kissed her temple and whispered to her, “That was nice.  Meeting your uncle, having him officiate the wedding.”

            “You think so?  I felt bad for asking without discussing it with you first…”

            “No, love, I’m happy about it,” he said, pressing another kiss to her hair.  “It will be wonderful to have him give the ceremony.  I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

            Warmth bubbled inside Dany’s chest and she smiled, snuggling in closer against Jon’s side.  His thumb slowly stroked up and down her arm, soothing her as the sleepytime rooibos tea she’d bought started to take effect.  “Do you know how much I love you, Dany?” Jon asked softly.

            “How much?”

            “More than all the world.  There is no one who loves anyone out there more than I love you.”  He kissed her soft and slow on the lips, his mouth warm and sweet against hers.  She smiled at the words and sighed as he rolled towards her to kiss her deeper.  She parted her lips and teased his upper lip with her tongue and he let her in.  He tasted of peppermint toothpaste and beneath that, the rooibos tea he’d tried with her and, as she breathed him in, it felt like cleansing her lungs.  “Jon,” she sighed.

            “Mmhmm.”

            “I was so nervous about today.”

            “I know, love.  Everything’s alright, though, and we’re going to be so good at this.  I swear.  We’ll figure all this out.”

            She nodded and kissed him again, winding her fingers into his soft, black curls at the nape of his neck.  She loved seeing him looking tough and serious like a cop, but she loved it more having him naked with his hair loose around his gorgeous face where she could run her fingers through it.  She slid her foot out from beneath the dogs, causing Drogon to grumble, and looped her leg around Jon’s pulling herself closer against him.  “I think we should start planning this wedding,” she murmured against his mouth.

            “Mmhmm,” he agreed.  “Tomorrow morning before I leave for work if you want.  Or I’m off on Thursday.  We can go eat cake or whatever it is we have to do.”

            “Cake sounds like a good idea.”

            Jon kissed her deep and slow, drowning her until she was light-headed and woozy.  Then, he whispered huskily, “I’d like to lick frosting off of you.  Chocolate…vanilla…”

            “Chai,” she sighed as he moved to kiss and lick her neck.  “I think one of the layers should be chai-flavored.”

            “Yes.  Definitely.”

            She lost herself in his kisses then and was soon shooing the dogs down and shimmying out of her nightgown.  Even as he struggled with his pajama pants, Jon was kissing her, devouring her, leaving hungry kisses and licks all along her neck and chest.  When she got her nightgown off, he grasped one breast on his hand and leaned down to draw her nipple into his mouth, making her cry out softly and squirm.  He licked and sucked at her, teasing her until she couldn’t bear it anymore and was tugging on his hair and gasping his name.  He released her then and whispered, his breath cool on her wet skin, “I can’t wait to see what happens with these as you get father along, love.”  He stroked her breast and teased her nipple with the pad of his thumb.  She shivered.  “I love these and I can’t wait to see and feel them change.”  He kissed her other breast then and she shuddered beneath him, her lower muscles tightening and clenching with desire.  “Gods, Jon,” she whimpered.

            Jon ran his hand down from her waist along her hip and thigh to her knee,, then back up again, squeezing and pulling her center tight against him so she could feel his hardness between her folds.  Dany moaned softly and arched her back to rub slowly up and down him, urging him on.  Jon groaned and adjusted them with shaking hands so he could push slowly into her, filling her as she gasped.  Dany found his hair between her fingers again and jerked his head back to kiss him hard on the mouth as they moved together in a slow, perfect rhythm.  As his tongue swirled around hers, she rolled her hips the opposite direction and he groaned.  Gently, she pushed him over and rolled with him so she could lie across him and take charge, rolling her hips slowly as he moved in and out of her, over and over again.

            This time, it was him who started to come first, and the sight of his eyes going black with desire, his lips parting and his hands clenching on her hips, the feel of his body tightening around her and inside of her, brought her right to the brink.  Then, feeling his body quiver, feeling his heat fill her, she came hard, moaning and gasping, her fingers finding his and lacing between them, squeezing hard as they shattered together.

            As they lay side-by-side, drowsy and satisfied, Dany smiled blissfully and kissed Jon’s shoulder.  “I love you, Jon,” she whispered.

            “I love you, Dany.”

            She had no nightmares that night.


End file.
